,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,editor of ,the ,expositor4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,proverbs4 ,,by ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdcccxc ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-hh4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-hi4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,b4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-ia4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,proverbs4 ,,by ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a41 ,hampstead2 ,,late ,,fellow ,,of ,,new ,,college1 ,,oxford4 ,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdcccxci4 ,shrewd remarks ,of moral prudence1 clothed in images ,lively and beautiful4 ,,wordsworth4 ,printed by ,hazell ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,introduction #a ,i4 ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,wisdom #i ,,ii4 ,,wisdom ,,as ,,the ,,guide ,,of ,,conduct #bd ,,iii4 ,,the ,,earthly ,,rewards ,,of ,,wisdom #cg ,,iv4 ,,education3 ,,the ,,child',s ,,thought ,,of ,,the ,,parent #eb ,v4 ,,the ,,ways ,,and ,,issues ,,of ,,sin #fe ,,vi4 ,,certain ,,examples ,,of ,,the ,,binding ,,character ,,of ,,our ,,own ,,actions #gi ,,vii4 ,,realism ,,in ,,moral ,,teaching #ib ,,viii4 ,,the ,,first-,,born ,,of ,,the ,,creator #ajf ,,ix4 ,,two ,,voices ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,places ,,of ,,the ,,city #abb ,x4 ,,wealth #ace ,,xi4 ,,goodness #adi ,,xii4 ,,the ,,tongue #afc ,,xiii4 ,,pride ,,and ,,humility #agi ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,inward ,,unapproachable ,,life #aia ,,xv4 ,a ,,passionate ,,disposition #bjc ,,xvi4 ,a ,,just ,,balance #bae ,,xvii4 ,,friendship #bbg ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,evil ,,of ,,isolation #bci ,,xix4 ,,human ,,freedom #bej ,,xx4 ,,idleness #bfb ,,xxi4 ,,wine #bge ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,the ,,poor #bhh ,,xxiii4 ,,education3 ,,the ,,parent',s ,,thought ,,of ,,the ,,child #cjc ,,xxiv4 ,,forgiving #cad ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,king #cbe ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,fool #ccg ,,xxvii4 ,,living ,,day ,,by ,,day #cej ,,xxviii4 ,,an ,,aspect ,,of ,,atonement #cfb ,,xxix4 ,,the ,,need ,,of ,,revelation #cge ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,agur #chf ,,xxxi4 ,a ,,good ,,woman #cif ,,index ,,of ,,passages #daa ,,general ,,index #daf ,,introduction4 ,in attempting to make the book of ,proverbs a subject of ,expository ,lectures and practical sermons it has been necessary to treat the book as a uniform composition1 following1 chapter by chapter1 the order which the compiler has adopted1 and bringing the scattered sentences together under subjects which are suggested by certain more striking points in the successive chapters4 ,by this method the great bulk of the matter contained in the book is brought under review1 either in the way of exposition or in the way of quotation and allusion1 though even in this method many smaller sayings slip through the expositor's meshes4 ,but the grave defect of the method which is thus employed is that it completely obliterates those interesting marks1 discernible on the very surface of the book1 of the origin and the compilation of the separate parts4 ,this defect the reader can best supply by turning to ,professor ,cheyne's scholarly work ,job and ,solomon2 or1 ,the ,wisdom of the ,old ,testament2 but for those who have not time or opportunity to refer to any book besides the one which is in their hands1 a brief ,introduction to the following ,lectures may not be unwelcome4 ,the ,jewish tradition ascribed the ,proverbs1 or ,sayings of the ,wise1 to ,solomon1 just as it ascribed the ,psalms1 or inspired lyrics of the poets1 to ,king ,david1 and we may add1 just as it ascribed all the gradual accretions and developments of the ,law to ,moses4 ,but even a very uncritical reader will observe that the book of ,proverbs as we have it is not the work of a single hand2 and a critical inquiry into the language and style of the several parts1 and also into the social and political conditions which are implied by them1 has led scholars to the conclusion that1 at the most1 a certain number of ,solomon's wise sayings are included in the collection1 but that he did not in any sense compose the book4 ,in fact1 the statement in #a ,kings iv4 #cb1 ,he spake three thousand proverbs1 implies that his utterances were recorded by others1 and not written down by himself1 and the heading to chap4 xxv4 of our book suggests that1 the men of ,hezekiah collected the reputed sayings of ,solomon from several sources1 one of those sources being the collection contained in the previous chapters4#a ,the opening words1 then1 of the book--,the ,proverbs of ,solomon the son of ,david1 ,king of ,israel--are not to be taken as an assertion that all which follows flowed from ,solomon's pen1 but rather as a general description and key-note of the subject of the treatise4 ,it is as if the compiler wished to say1 ',this is a compendium of those wise sayings current among us1 the model and type of which may be found in the proverbs attributed to the wisest of men1 ,king ,solomon4' ,that this is the way in which we must understand the title becomes plain when we find contained in the book a passage described as the sayings of the wise 7xxiv4 #bc-cd71 a chapter distinctly entitled ,the ,words of ,agur1 and another paragraph headed ,the ,words of ,king ,lemuel4 ,leaving aside the traditional view of the authorship1 which the book itself shows to be misleading1 the contents may be briefly delineated and characterized4 ,the main body of ,proverbs is the collection which begins at chap4 x41 ,the ,proverbs of ,solomon1 and ends at xxii4 #af4 ,this collection has certain distinct features which mark it off from all that precedes and from all that follows4 ,it is1 strictly speaking1 a collection of proverbs1 that is of brief1 pointed sayings1--sometimes containing a similitude1 but more generally consisting of a single antithetical moral sentiment1--such as spring into existence and pass current in every society of men4 ,all these proverbs are identical in form3 each is expressed in a distich2 the apparent exception in xix4 #g is to be explained by the obvious fact that the third clause is the mutilated fragment of another proverb1 which in the ,,lxx4 appears complete3 1 4 ,as the form is the same in all1 so the general drift of their teaching is quite uniform2 the morality inculcated is of no very lofty type2 the motives for right conduct are mainly prudential2 there is no sense of mystery or wonder1 no tendency to speculation or doubt2 ,be good1 and you will prosper2 be wicked1 and you will suffer1 is the sum of the whole4 ,a few scattered precepts occur which seem to touch a higher level and to breathe a more spiritual air2 and it is possible1 as has been suggested1 that these were added by the author of chaps4 i4-ix41 when he revised and published the compilation4 ,such a sentiment as xiv4 #cd well accords with the utterance of ,wisdom in viii4 #ae1 #af4 ,and the series of proverbs which are grouped on the principle of their all containing the name of ,jahveh1 xv4 #cc-xvi4 #g 7cf4 xvi4 #bj1 #cc7 seems to be closely linked with the opening chapters of the book4 ,assuming the proverbs of this collection to spring from the same period1 and to reflect the social conditions which then prevailed1 we should say that it points to a time of comparative simplicity and purity1 when the main industry was that of tilling the soil1 when the sayings of wise people were valued by an unsophisticated community1 when the family life was pure1 the wife honoured 7xii4 #d2 xviii4 #bb2 xix4 #ad71 and parental authority maintained1 and when the king was still worthy of respect1 the immediate and obedient instrument of the ,divine government 7xxi4 #a74 ,the whole collection seems to date from the earlier and happier times of the monarchy4 ,to this collection is added an appendix 7xxii4 #ag-xxiv4 #bb71 which opens with an exhortation addressed by the teacher to his pupil4 ,the literary form of this appendix falls far behind the style of the main collection4 ,the terse and compact distich occurs rarely2 most of the sayings are more cumbrous and elaborate1 and in one case there is a brief didactic poem carried through several verses 7xxiii4 #bi-ce74 ,as the style of composition shows a decline1 so the general conditions which form the background of the sayings are less happy4 ,they seem to indicate a time of growing luxury2 gluttony and drunkenness are the subjects of strong invective4 ,it appears that the poor are oppressed by the rich 7xxii4 #bb71 and justice is not rightly administered1 so that the innocent are carried away into confinement 7xxiv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,there is political unrest1 too1 and the young have to be cautioned against the revolutionary or anarchical spirit 7xxiv4 #ba74 ,we are evidently brought down to a later period in ,israel's melancholy history4 ,another brief appendix follows 7xxiv4 #bc-cd71 in which the distich form almost entirely disappears2 it is remarkable as containing a little picture 7#cj-cd71 which1 like the much longer passage in vii4 #f-bg1 is presented as the personal observation of the writer4 ,we now pass on to an entirely new collection1 ch4 xxv4-xxix41 which was made1 we are told1 in the literary circle at the court of ,hezekiah1 two hundred and fifty years or thereabouts after the time of ,solomon4 ,in this collection there is no uniformity of structure such as distinguished the proverbs of the first collection4 ,some distichs occur1 but as often as not the proverb is drawn out into three1 four1 and in one case 7xxv4 #f1 #g7 five clauses2 xxvii4 #bc-bg forms a brief connected exhortation1 which is a considerable departure from the simple structure of the mashal1 or proverb4 ,the social condition reflected in these chapters is not very attractive2 it is clear that the people have had experience of a bad ruler 7xxix4 #b72 we seem to have hints of the many troubled experiences through which the monarchy of ,israel passed--the divided rule1 the injustice1 the incapacity1 the oppression 7xxviii4 #b1 #c1 #ab1 #ae1 #af1 #bh74 ,there is one proverb which particularly recalls the age of ,hezekiah1 when the doom of the exile was already being proclaimed by the prophets3 ,as a bird that wandereth from her nest1 so is a man that wandereth from his place 7xxvii4 #h74 ,and it is perhaps characteristic of that troubled time1 when the spiritual life was to be deepened by the experience of material suffering and national disaster1 that this collection contains a proverb which might be almost the key-note of the ,new ,testament morality 7xxv4 #ba1 #bb74 ,the book closes with three quite distinct passages1 which can only be regarded as appendices4 ,according to one interpretation of the very difficult words which stand at the head of chaps4 xxx4 and xxxi41 these paragraphs would come from a foreign source2 it has been thought that the word translated oracle might be the name of the country mentioned in ,gen4 xxv4 #ad1 ,massa4 ,but whether ,jakeh and ,king ,lemuel were natives of this shadowy land or not1 it is certain that the whole tone and drift of these two sections are alien to the general spirit of the book4 ,there is something enigmatical in their style and artificial in their form1 which would suggest a very late period in ,israel's literary history4 ,and the closing passage1 which describes the virtuous woman1 is distinguished by being an alphabetical acrostic1 the verses beginning with the successive letters of the ,hebrew alphabet1 a kind of composition which points to the dawn of ,rabbinical methods in literature4 ,it is impossible to say when or how these curious and interesting additions were made to our book1 but scholars have generally recognized them as the product of the exile1 if not the post-exile1 period4 ,now1 the two collections which have been described1 with their several appendices1 were at some favourable point in religious history1 possibly in those happy days of ,josiah when the ,deuteronomic ,law was newly promulgated to the joyful nation1 brought together1 and1 as we should say now1 edited1 with an original introduction by an author who1 unknown to us by name1 is among the greatest and noblest of ,biblical writers4 ,the first nine chapters of the book1 which form the introduction to the whole1 strike a far higher note1 appeal to nobler conceptions1 and are couched in a much loftier style than the book itself4 ,the writer bases his moral teaching on ,divine authority rather than on the utilitarian basis which prevails in most of the proverbs4 ,writing in a time when the temptations to a lawless and sensual life were strong1 appealing to the wealthier and more cultured youth of the nation1 he proceeds in sweet and earnest discourse to woo his readers from the paths of vice into the ,temple of ,wisdom and ,virtue4 ,his method of contrasting the two ways1 and exhorting men to shun the one and choose the other1 constantly reminds us of the similar appeals in the ,book of ,deuteronomy2 but the touch is more graphic and more vivid2 the gifts of the poet are employed in depicting the seven-pillared ,house of ,wisdom and the deadly ways of ,folly2 and in the wonderful passage which introduces ,wisdom appealing to the sons of men1 on the ground of the part which she plays in the ,creation and by the throne of ,god1 we recognize the voice of a prophet--a prophet1 too1 who holds one of the highest places in the line of those who foretold the coming of our ,lord4 ,impossible as it has been in the ,lectures to bring out the history and structure of the book1 it will greatly help the reader to bear in mind what has just been said2 he will thus be prepared for the striking contrast between the glowing beauty of the introduction and the somewhat frigid precepts which occur so frequently among the ,proverbs themselves2 he will be able to appreciate more fully the point which is from time to time brought into relief1 that much of the teaching contained in the book is crude and imperfect1 of value for us only when it has been brought to the standard of our ,lord's spirit1 corrected by ,his love and wisdom1 or infused with ,his ,divine life4 ,and especially as the reader approaches those strange chapters ,the ,sayings of ,agur and ,the ,sayings of ,king ,lemuel he will be glad to remind himself of the somewhat loose relation in which they stand to the main body of the work4 ,in few parts of the ,scripture is there more need than in this of the ever-present ,spirit to interpret and apply the written word1 to discriminate and assort1 to arrange and to combine1 the varied utterances of the ages4 ,nowhere is it more necessary to distinguish between the inspired speech1 which comes to the mind of prophet or poet as a direct oracle of ,god1 and the speech which is the product of human wisdom1 human observation1 and human common sense1 and is only in that secondary sense inspired4 ,in the book of ,proverbs there is much which is recorded for us by the wisdom of ,god1 not because it is the expression of ,god's wisdom1 but distinctly because it is the expression of man's wisdom2 and among the lessons of the book is the sense of limitation and incompleteness which human wisdom leaves upon the mind4 ,but under the direction of the ,holy ,spirit1 the reader may not only learn from the ,proverbs much practical counsel for the common duties of life2 he may have1 from time to time1 rare and wonderful glimpses into the heights and depths of ,god4 ,,footnote3 #a ,cf4 xxv4 #bd 7xxi4 #i71 xxvi4 #bb 7xviii4 #h71 xxvii4 #ab 7xxii4 #c71 xxvii4 #ac 7xx4 #af71 xxvi4 #ac 7xxii4 #ac71 xxvi4 #ae 7xix4 #bd71 xxviii4 #f 7xix4 #a71 xxviii4 #ai 7xii4 #aa71 xxix4 #ac 7xxii4 #b72 to which add xxvii4 #ae 7xix4 #ac71 xxvii4 #ba 7xvii4 #c71 xxix4 #bb 7xv4 #ah74 ,i4 ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,wisdom4 ,the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of knowledge4--,,prov4 i4 #g4 ,the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom3 ,and the knowledge of the ,holy ,one is understanding4 --,,prov4 ix4 #aj4 7,cf4 ,eccles4 i4 #ad1 ,to fear the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom3 and it was created with the faithful in the womb2 also ,,ps4 cxi4 #aj47 ,the book of ,proverbs belongs to a group of works in the ,hebrew literature the subject of which is ,wisdom4 ,it is probably the earliest of them all1 and may be regarded as the stem1 of which they are the branches4 ,without attempting to determine the relative ages of these compositions1 the ordinary reader can see the points of contact between ,proverbs and ,ecclesiastes1 and a little careful study reveals that the book of ,job1 though fuller and richer in every respect1 belongs to the same order4 ,outside the canon of ,holy ,scripture we possess two works which avowedly owe their suggestion and inspiration to our book1 viz4 ,the ,wisdom of ,jesus the ,son of ,sirach1 commonly called ,ecclesiasticus1 a genuinely ,hebrew product1 and ,the ,wisdom of ,solomon1 commonly called the ,book of ,wisdom1 of much later origin1 and exhibiting that fusion of ,hebrew religious conceptions with ,greek speculation which prevailed in the ,jewish schools of ,alexandria4 ,now1 the question at once occurs1 ,what are we to understand by the ,wisdom which gives a subject and a title to this extensive field of literature8 and in what relation does it stand to the ,law and the ,prophets1 which form the great bulk of the ,old ,testament ,scriptures8 ,broadly speaking1 the ,wisdom of the ,hebrews covers the whole domain of what we should call ,science and ,philosophy4 ,it is the consistent effort of the human mind to know1 to understand1 and to explain all that exists4 ,it is1 to use the modern phrase1 the search for truth4 ,the wise men were not1 like ,moses and the ,prophets1 inspired legislators and heralds of ,god's immediate messages to mankind2 but rather1 like the wise men among the earlier ,greeks1 ,thales1 ,solon1 ,anaximenes1 or like the ,sophists among the later ,greeks1 ,socrates and his successors1 they brought all their faculties to bear in observing the facts of the world and of life1 and in seeking to interpret them1 and then in the public streets or in appointed schools endeavoured to communicate their knowledge to the young4 ,nothing was too high for their inquiry3 ,that which is is far off1 and exceeding deep2 who can find it out8#b yet they tried to discover and to explain that which is4 ,nothing was too lowly for their attention2 wisdom reaches from one end to another mightily1 and sweetly orders all things4#c ,their purpose finds expression in the words of ,ecclesiastes1 ,i turned about1 and my heart was set to know and to search out1 and to seek wisdom and the reason of things4#d ,but by ,wisdom is meant not merely the search1 but also the discovery2 not merely a desire to know1 but also a certain body of conceptions ascertained and sufficiently formulated4 ,to the ,hebrew mind it would have seemed meaningless to assert that ,agnosticism was wisdom4 ,it was saved from this paradoxical conclusion by its firmly rooted faith in ,god4 ,mystery might hang over the details1 but one thing was plain3 the whole universe was an intelligent plan of ,god2 the mind might be baffled in understanding ,his ways1 but that all existence is of ,his choosing and ,his ordering was taken as the axiom with which all thought must start4 ,thus there is a unity in the ,hebrew ,wisdom2 the unity is found in the thought of the ,creator2 all the facts of the physical world1 all the problems of human life1 are referred to ,his mind2 objective ,wisdom is ,god's ,being1 which includes in its circle everything2 and subjective wisdom1 wisdom in the human mind1 consists in becoming acquainted with ,his ,being and all that is contained in it1 and meanwhile in constantly admitting that ,he is1 and yielding to ,him the rightful place in our thought4 ,but while ,wisdom embraces in her wide survey all things in heaven and in earth1 there is one part of the vast field which makes a special demand upon human interest4 ,the proper study of mankind is man4 ,very naturally the earliest subject to occupy human thought was human life1 human conduct1 human society4 ,or1 to say the same thing in the language of this book1 while ,wisdom was occupied with the whole creation1 she specially rejoiced in the habitable earth1 and her delight was with the sons of men4 ,theoretically embracing all subjects of human knowledge and reflection1 the ,wisdom of the ,hebrew literature practically touches but little on what we should now call ,science1 and even where attention was turned to the facts and laws of the material world1 it was mainly in order to borrow similitudes or illustrations for moral and religious purposes4 ,king ,solomon spake of trees1 from the cedar that is in ,lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall3 he spake also of beasts1 and of fowl1 and of creeping things1 and of fishes4#e ,but the ,proverbs which have actually come down to us under his name refer almost exclusively to principles of conduct or observation of life1 and seldom remind us of the earth1 the sea1 and the sky1 except as the dwelling-place of men1 the house covered with paintings for his delight or filled with imagery for his instruction4 ,but there is a further distinction to be drawn1 and in attempting to make it plain we may determine the place of the ,proverbs in the general scheme of the inspired writings4 ,human life is a sufficiently large theme2 it includes not only social and political questions1 but the searchings and speculations of philosophy1 the truths and revelations of religion4 ,from one point of view1 therefore1 wisdom may be said to embrace the ,law and the ,prophets1 and in a beautiful passage of ,ecclesiasticus#f the whole covenant of ,jehovah with ,israel is treated as an emanation of wisdom from the mouth of the ,most ,high4 ,wisdom was the inspiration of those who shaped the law and built the ,holy ,house1 of those who ministered in the courts of the ,temple1 and of those who were moved by the ,holy ,one to chide the faults of the people1 to call them to repentance1 to denounce the doom of their sin1 and proclaim the glad promise of deliverance4 ,again1 from this large point of view ,wisdom could be regarded as the ,divine ,philosophy1 the system of thought and the body of beliefs which would furnish the explanation of life1 and would root all the decisions of ethics in eternal principles of truth4 ,and this function of ,wisdom is presented with singular beauty and power in the eighth chapter of our book1 where1 as we shall see1 the mouth of ,wisdom shows that her concern with men is derived from her relation with the ,creator and from her comprehension of ,his great architectural design in the construction of the world4 ,now1 the wisdom which finds expression in the bulk of the ,proverbs must be clearly distinguished from wisdom in this exalted sense4 ,it is not the wisdom of the ,law and the ,prophets2 it moves in a much lower plane4 ,it is not the wisdom of chap4 viii41 a philosophy which harmonizes human life with the laws of nature by constantly connecting both with ,god4 ,the wisdom of the ,proverbs differs from the wisdom of the ,prophets in this1 that it is derived not directly1 but mediately from ,god4 ,no special mind is directed to shape these sayings2 they grow up in the common mind of the people1 and they derive their inspiration from those general qualities which made the whole nation in the midst of which they had their birth an inspired nation1 and gave to all the literature of the nation a peculiar and inimitable tone4 ,the wisdom of the ,proverbs differs1 too1 from the wisdom of these introductory chapters in much the same way2 it is a difference which might be expressed by a familiar use of words2 it is a distinction between ,philosophy and ,proverbial ,philosophy1 a distinction1 let us say1 between ,divine ,philosophy and ,proverbial ,philosophy4 ,the ,proverbs are often shrewd1 often edifying1 sometimes almost evangelical in their sharp ethical insight2 but we shall constantly be reminded that they do not come with the overbearing authority of the prophetic ,thus saith the ,lord4 ,and still more shall we be reminded how far they lag behind the standard of life and the principles of conduct which are presented to us in ,christ ,jesus4 ,what has just been said seems to be a necessary preliminary to the study of the ,proverbs1 and it is only by bearing it in mind that we shall be able to appreciate the difference in tone between the nine introductory chapters and the main body of the book2 nor should we venture1 perhaps1 apart from the consideration which has been urged to exercise our critical sense in the study of particular sayings1 and to insist at all points on bringing the teaching of the wise men of old to the standard and test of ,him who is ,himself made unto us ,wisdom4 ,but now to turn to our text4 ,we must think of wisdom in the largest possible sense1 as including not only ethics1 but philosophy1 and not only philosophy1 but religion2 yes1 and as embracing in her vast survey the whole field of natural science1 when it is said that the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom2 we must think of knowledge in its fullest and most liberal extent when we read that the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of knowledge4 ,in this pregnant truth we may distinguish three ideas3 first1 fear1 or1 as we should probably say1 reverence1 is the pre-requisite of all scientific1 philosophical1 or religious truth2 second1 no real knowledge or wisdom can be attained which does not start with the recognition of ,god2 and then1 thirdly1 the expression is not only the fear of ,god1 which might refer only to the ,being that is presupposed in any intelligent explanation of phenomena1 but the fear of the ,lord1 i4e4 of ,jahveh1 the self-existent ,one1 who has revealed ,himself in a special way to men as ,i ,,am ,,what ,i ,,am2 and it is therefore hinted that no satisfactory philosophy of human life and history can be constructed which does not build upon the fact of revelation4 ,we may proceed to dwell upon these three thoughts in order4 #a4 ,most religious people are willing to admit that the fear of the ,lord is a fountain of life1 to depart from the snares of death4#g ,but what is not always observed is that the same attitude is necessary in the intellectual sphere4 ,and yet the truth may be illustrated in a quarter which to some of us may be surprising4 ,it is a notable fact that ,modern ,science had its origin in two deeply religious minds4 ,bacon and ,descartes were both stirred to their investigation of physical facts by their belief in the ,divine ,being who was behind them4 ,to mention only our great ,english thinker1 ,bacon's ,novum ,organum is the most reverent of works1 and no one ever realized more keenly than he that1 as ,coleridge used to say1 there is no chance of truth at the goal where there is not a childlike humility at the starting-point4 ,it is sometimes said that this note of reverence is wanting in the great scientific investigators of our day4 ,so far as this is true1 it is probable that their conclusions will be vitiated1 and we are often impressed by the feeling that the unmannerly self-assertion and overweening self-confidence of many scientific writers augur ill for the truth of their assertions4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it must be remembered that the greatest men of science in our own1 as in all other ages1 are distinguished by a singular simplicity1 and by a reverence which communicates itself to their readers4 ,what could be more reverent than ,darwin's way of studying the coral-insect or the earth-worm8 ,he bestowed on these humble creatures of the ocean and of the earth the most patient and loving observation4 ,and his success in understanding and explaining them was in proportion to the respect which he showed to them4 ,the coral-diver has no reverence for the insect2 he is bent only on gain1 and he consequently can tell us nothing of the coral reef and its growth4 ,the gardener has no reverence for the worm2 he cuts it ruthlessly with his spade1 and flings it carelessly aside2 accordingly he is not able to tell us of its lowly ministries and of the part it plays in the fertilization of the soil4 ,it was ,darwin's reverence which proved to be the beginning of knowledge in these departments of investigation2 and if it was only the reverence of the naturalist1 the truth is illustrated all the better1 for his knowledge of the unseen and the eternal dwindled away1 just as his perception of beauty in literature and art declined1 in proportion as he suffered his spirit of reverence towards these things to die4 ,the gates of ,knowledge and ,wisdom are closed1 and they are opened only to the knock of ,reverence4 ,without reverence1 it is true1 men may gain what is called worldly knowledge and worldly wisdom2 but these are far removed from truth1 and experience often shows us how profoundly ignorant and how incurably blind pushing and successful people are1 whose knowledge is all turned to delusion1 and whose wisdom shifts round into folly1 precisely because the great pre-requisite was wanting4 ,the seeker after real knowledge will have little about him which suggests worldly success4 ,he is modest1 self-forgetful1 possibly shy2 he is absorbed in a disinterested pursuit1 for he has seen afar the high1 white star of ,truth2 at it he gazes1 to it he aspires4 ,things which only affect him personally make but little impression on him2 things which affect the truth move1 agitate1 excite him4 ,a bright spirit is on ahead1 beckoning to him4 ,the colour mounts to his cheek1 the nerves thrill1 and his soul is filled with rapture1 when the form seems to grow clearer and a step is gained in the pursuit4 ,when a discovery is made he almost forgets that he is the discoverer2 he will even allow the credit of it to pass over to another1 for he would rather rejoice in the truth itself than allow his joy to be tinged with a personal consideration4 ,yes1 this modest1 self-forgetful1 reverent mien is the first condition of winning ,truth1 who must be approached on bended knee1 and recognized with a humble and a prostrate heart4 ,there is no gainsaying the fact that this fear1 this reverence1 is the beginning of wisdom4 #b4 ,we pass now to an assertion bolder than the last1 that there can be no true knowledge or wisdom which does not start from the recognition of ,god4 ,this is one of those contentions1 not uncommon in the ,sacred ,writings1 which appear at first sight to be arbitrary dogmas1 but prove on closer inquiry to be the authoritative statements of reasoned truth4 ,we are face to face1 in our day1 with an avowedly atheistic philosophy4 ,according to the ,scriptures1 an atheistic philosophy is not a philosophy at all1 but only a folly3 ,the fool hath said in his heart1 ,there is no ,god4 ,we have thinkers among us who deem it their great mission to get rid of the very idea of ,god1 as one which stands in the way of spiritual1 social1 and political progress4 ,according to the ,scriptures1 to remove the idea of ,god is to destroy the key of knowledge and to make any consistent scheme of thought impossible4 ,here certainly is a clear and sharp issue4 ,now1 if this universe of which we form a part is a thought of the ,divine mind1 a work of the ,divine hand1 a scene of ,divine operations1 in which ,god is realizing1 by slow degrees1 a vast spiritual purpose1 it is self-evident that no attempt to understand the universe can be successful which leaves this1 its fundamental idea1 out of account2 as well might one attempt to understand a picture while refusing to recognize that the artist had any purpose to express in painting it1 or indeed that there was any artist at all4 ,so much every one will admit4 ,but if the universe is not the work of a ,divine mind1 or the effect of a ,divine will2 if it is merely the working of a blind1 irrational ,force1 which realizes no end1 because it has no end to realize2 if we1 the feeble outcome of a long1 unthinking evolution1 are the first creatures that ever thought1 and the only creatures who now think1 in all the universe of ,being2 it follows that of a universe so irrational there can be no true knowledge for rational beings1 and of a scheme of things so unwise there can be no philosophy or wisdom4 ,no person who reflects can fail to recognize this1 and this is the truth which is asserted in the text4 ,it is not necessary to maintain that without admitting ,god we cannot have knowledge of a certain number of empirical facts2 but that does not constitute a philosophy or a wisdom4 ,it is necessary to maintain that without admitting ,god we cannot have any explanation of our knowledge1 or any verification of it2 without admitting ,god our knowledge can never come to any roundness or completeness such as might justify our calling it by the name of ,wisdom4 ,or to put the matter in a slightly different way3 a thinking mind can only conceive the universe as the product of thought2 if the universe is not the product of thought it can never be intelligible to a thinking mind1 and can therefore never be in a true sense the object of knowledge2 to deny that the universe is the product of thought is to deny the possibility of wisdom4 ,we find1 then1 that it is not a dogma1 but a truth of reason1 that knowledge must start with the recognition of ,god4 #c4 ,but now we come to an assertion which is the boldest of all1 and for the present we shall have to be content to leave behind many who have readily followed us so far4 ,that we are bound to recognize the ,lord1 that is the ,god of ,revelation1 and bow down in reverence before ,him1 as the first condition of true wisdom1 is just the truth which multitudes of men who claim to be ,theists are now strenuously denying4 ,must we be content to leave the assertion merely as a dogma enunciated on the authority of ,scripture8 ,surely they1 at any rate1 who have made the beginning of wisdom in the fear of the ,lord should be able to show that the possession which they have gained is actually wisdom1 and does not rest upon an irrational dogma1 incapable of proof4 ,we have already recognized at the outset that the ,wisdom of this book is not merely an intellectual account of the reason of things1 but also more specifically an explanation of the moral and spiritual life4 ,it may be granted that so far as the ,intellect alone claims satisfaction it is enough to posit the bare idea of ,god as the condition of all rational existence4 ,but when men come to recognize themselves as ,spiritual ,beings1 with conceptions of right and wrong1 with strong affections1 with soaring aspirations1 with ideas which lay hold of ,eternity1 they find themselves quite incapable of being satisfied with the bare idea of ,god2 the soul within them pants and thirsts for a living ,god4 ,an intellectual love of ,god might satisfy purely intellectual creatures2 but to meet the needs of man as he is1 ,god must be a ,god that manifests ,his own personality1 and does not leave ,himself without a witness to ,his rational creature4 ,a wisdom1 then1 that is to truly appraise and rightly guide the life of man must start with the recognition of a ,god whose peculiar designation is the ,self-existent ,one1 and who makes ,himself known to man by that name2 that is1 it must start with the fear of the ,lord4#h ,how cogent this necessity is appears directly the alternative is stated4 ,if ,reason assures us of a ,god that made us1 a ,first ,cause of our existence and of our being what we are2 if ,reason also compels us to refer to ,him our moral nature1 our desire of holiness1 and our capacity of love1 what could be a greater tax on faith1 and even a greater strain on the reason1 than to declare that1 notwithstanding1 ,god has not revealed ,himself as the ,lord of our life and the ,god of our salvation1 as the authority of righteousness or the object of our love8 ,when the question is stated in this way it appears that apart from a veritable and trustworthy revelation there can be no wisdom which is capable of really dealing with human life1 as the life of spiritual and moral creatures2 for a ,god who does not reveal ,himself would be devoid of the highest qualities of the human spirit1 and the belief in a ,god who is inferior to man1 a ,creator who is less than the creature1 could furnish no foundation for an intelligible system of thought4 ,our text now stands before us1 not as the unsupported deliverance of dogma1 but as a condensed utterance of the human reason4 ,we see that starting from the conception of ,wisdom as the sum of that which is1 and the sufficient explanation of all things1 as including therefore not only the laws of nature1 but also the laws of human life1 both spiritual and moral1 we can make no step towards the acquisition of wisdom without a sincere and absolute reverence1 a recognition of ,god as the ,author of the universe which we seek to understand1 and as the ,personal ,being1 the ,self-existent ,one1 who reveals ,himself under that significant name ,i ,,am1 and declares ,his will to our waiting hearts4 ,to whom hath the root of ,wisdom been revealed8 or who hath known her wise counsels8 ,there is one wise1 and greatly to be feared1 the ,lord sitting upon ,his throne4#i ,in this way is struck the key-note of the ,jewish ,wisdom4 ,it is profoundly true2 it is stimulating and helpful4 ,but it may not be out of place to remind ourselves even thus early that the idea on which we have been dwelling comes short of the higher truth which has been given us in ,christ4 ,it hardly entered into the mind of a ,hebrew thinker to conceive that fear of the ,lord might pass into full1 whole-hearted1 and perfect love4 ,and yet it may be shown that this was the change effected when ,christ was of ,god made unto us ,wisdom2 it is not that the fear1 or reverence1 becomes less1 but it is that the fear is swallowed up in the larger and more gracious sentiment4 ,for us who have received ,christ as our ,wisdom1 it has become almost a truism that we must love in order to know4 ,we recognize that the causes of things remain hidden from us until our hearts have been kindled into an ardent love towards the ,first ,cause1 ,god ,himself3 we find that even our processes of reasoning are faulty until they are touched with the ,divine tenderness1 and rendered sympathetic by the infusion of a loftier passion4 ,and it is quite in accordance with this fuller truth that both science and philosophy have made genuine progress only in ,christian lands and under ,christian influences4 ,where the touch of ,christ's hand has been most decisively felt1 in ,germany1 in ,england1 in ,america1 and where consequently ,wisdom has attained a nobler1 a richer1 a more tender significance1 there1 under fostering powers1 which are not the less real because they are not always acknowledged1 the great discoveries have been made1 the great systems of thought have been framed1 and the great counsels of conduct have gradually assumed substance and authority4 ,and from a wide observation of facts we are able to say1 ,the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge2 yes1 but the ,wisdom of ,god has led us on from fear to love1 and in the ,love of the ,lord is found the fulfilment of that which trembled into birth through fear4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,eccl4 vii4 #bd4 #c ,wisdom viii4 #a4 #d ,eccl4 vii4 #be4 #e #a ,kings iv4 #cc4 #f ,in this passage ,wisdom is represented saying-- ,i from the mouth of the ,highest came forth1 and as vapour ,i veiled the earth2 ,i in the heights pitched my tent1 my throne in a pillar of cloud2 ,i alone circled the ring of heaven1 and walked in the depths of abysses2 ,in the waves of the sea1 and in all the earth1 and in every people and race ,i obtained a possession2 ,with all these ,i sought a rest 7saying71 ,in whose inheritance shall ,i settle8 ,then came to me the command of the ,creator of all2 my ,creator pitched my tent2 and ,he said1 ,in ,jacob pitch thy tent1 in ,israel find thine inheritance4 ,before the world was1 in the beginning ,he created me1 and while the world lasts ,i shall not fail3 ,in the holy tent before ,him ,i offered service1 and thus in ,sion ,i was planted2 ,in the beloved city ,he likewise made me rest1 and in ,israel is my power2 ,and ,i took root in a people that is glorified1 in a portion of the ,lord ,his inheritance4--,,eccles4 xxiv4 #c4 #g ,prov4 xiv4 #bg4 #h ,it may be well to remind the reader who is too familiar with the name the ,lord to consider its significance2 that the ,lord is the ,english translation of that peculiar name1 ,jahveh1 by which ,god revealed ,himself to ,moses1 and the term ,jahveh seems to convey one of two ideas1 existence or the cause of existence1 according to the vowel-pointing of the consonants 4 #i ,eccles4 i4 #f1 #h4 ,,ii4 ,,wisdom ,,as ,,the ,,guide ,,of ,,conduct4 ,to deliver thee from the way of the evil man4444 ,to deliver thee from the strange woman4 --,,prov4 ii4 #ab;a-#af;a4 ,wisdom is concerned1 as we have seen1 with the whole universe of fact1 with the whole range of thought2 she surveys and orders all processes of nature4 ,we might say of her1 ,she doth preserve the stars from wrong1 ,and the most ancient heavens by her are fresh and strong4 ,but while she is occupied in these high things1 she is no less attentive to the affairs of human life1 and her delight is to order human conduct1 not despising even the smallest detail of that which is done by men under the sun4 ,side by side with physical laws1 indeed often intertwined with them1 appear the moral laws which issue from the lively oracles of ,wisdom4 ,there is not one authority for natural phenomena1 and another for mental and moral phenomena4 ,as we should say now1 ,truth is one3 ,science is one3 ,law is one4 ,the laws of the physical order1 the laws of the speculative reason1 the laws of practical life1 form a single system1 come from the sole mind of ,god1 and are the impartial interests of ,wisdom4 ,as the great authority on ,conduct1 ,wisdom is pictured standing in the places where men congregate1 where the busy hum of human voices and the rush of hurried feet make it necessary for her to lift up her voice in order to gain attention4 ,with words of winsome wooing--for wisdom shall enter into thy heart1 and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul#aj--or with loud threats and stern declarations of truth--the backsliding of the simple shall slay them1 and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them#aa--she tries to win us1 while we are yet young1 to her paths of pleasantness and her ways of peace4 ,her object is to deliver youth1 7#a7 from the evil man1 and 7#b7 from the evil woman1 or in the most comprehensive way to deliver us from evil4 ,first of all1 we may spend a few moments in noting the particular temptations to which men were exposed in the days when these chapters were written4#ab ,there was a temptation to join a troop of banditti1 and to obtain a living by acts of highway robbery which would frequently result in murder2 and there was the temptation to the sin which we call specifically ,impurity1 a temptation which arose not so much from the existence of a special class of fallen women1 as from the shocking looseness and voluptuousness of married women in well-to-do circumstances4 ,society under the kings never seems to have reached anything approaching to an ordered security4 ,we cannot point to any period when the mountain roads1 even in the neighbourhood of the capital1 were not haunted by thieves1 who lurked in the rocks or the copses1 and fell upon passing travellers1 to strip and to rob1 and if need be to kill them4 ,when such things are done1 when such things are even recounted in sensational literature1 there are multitudes of young men who are stirred to a debased ambition2 a spurious glory encircles the brow of the adventurer who sets the laws of society at defiance2 and without any personal entreaty the foolish youth is disposed to leave the quiet ways of industry for the stimulating excitement and the false glamour of the bandit life4 ,the reckless plottings of the robbers are described in chap4 i4 #aa-ad4 ,the character of the men themselves is given in iv4 #af1 #ag3 ,they sleep not1 except they have done mischief2 and their sleep is taken away1 unless they cause some to fall4 ,for they eat the bread of wickedness1 and drink the wine of violence4 ,the proverb in xxiv4 #ae is addressed to such an one3 ,lay not wait1 ,o wicked man1 against the habitation of the righteous2 spoil not his resting-place4 ,the rebukes of the prophets--,isaiah1 ,micah1 ,jeremiah--may have a wider application1 but they seem at any rate to include this highwayman's life4 ,your hands are full of blood is the charge of ,isaiah2#ac and again1 ,their feet run to evil1 and they make haste to shed innocent blood2 their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity4#ad ,they build up ,zion with blood1 says ,micah indignantly4#ae ,jeremiah cries with still more vehemence to his generation1 ,also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor2#af and again1 ,but thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness1 and for to shed innocent blood1 and for oppression1 and for violence1 to do it4#ag ,we are to conceive1 then1 the young and active men of the day constantly tempted to take these unhallowed paths which seemed to promise wealth2 the sinners were always ready to whisper in the ears of those whose life was tedious and unattractive1#ah ,cast in thy lot among us2 we will all have one purse4 ,the moral sense of the community was not sufficiently developed to heartily condemn this life of iniquity2 as in the eighteenth century among ourselves1 so in ,israel when this book was written1 there existed in the minds of the people at large a lurking admiration for the bold and dashing gentlemen of the way4 ,the other special temptation of that day is described in our book with remarkable realism1 and there is no false shame in exposing the paths of death into which it leads4 ,in v4 #c-bj the subject is treated in the plainest way3 ,her latter end is bitter as wormwood1 sharp as a two-edged sword4 ,her feet go down to death2 her steps take hold on ,sheol4 ,it is taken up again in vi4 #bd-ce3 ,can a man take fire in his bosom1 and his clothes not be burned8 or can one walk upon hot coals1 and his feet not be scorched8 ,the guilty man who has been betrayed by the glitter and beauty1 by the honeyed words and the soft entreaties1 shall get wounds and dishonour1 and his reproach shall not be wiped away4 ,in chap4 vii4 #e-bg a most vivid picture is drawn of the foolish youth seduced into evil2 there he is seen going as an ox to the slaughter1 as one in fetters1 till an arrow strike through his liver2 as a bird hasteth to the snare1 and knoweth not that it is for his life4 ,and the ,introduction closes with a delineation of ,folly1 which is obviously meant as a counterpart to the delineation of ,wisdom in chap4 i4 #bj1 etc4#ai ,the miserable woman sits at the door of her house1 on a seat in the high places of the city2 with seductive words she wins the foolish passers-by to enter her doors3 the dead are there2 her guests are in the depths of ,sheol4 ,it is a temptation which in many varying forms has always beset human life4 ,no small part of the danger is that this evil1 above all others1 grows in silence1 and yet seems to be aggravated by publicity4 ,the preacher cannot speak plainly about it1 and even writers shrink from touching the subject4 ,we can1 however1 be thankful that the book1 which is ,god's book rather than man's1 knows nothing of our false modesty and conventional delicacy3 it speaks out not only boldly1 but minutely2 it is so explicit that no man who with a prayerful heart will meditate upon its teachings need fall into the pitfall--that pitfall which seems to grow even more subtle and more seductive as civilization advances1 and as the great cities absorb a larger proportion of the population2 or if he fall he can only admit with shame and remorse1 ,i have hated instruction1 and my heart despised reproof4 ,neither have ,i obeyed the voice of my teachers1 nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me4 ,i was well-nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly4#bj ,in the second place1 we must try to look at these temptations in the light of our own day1 in order that we may listen to the voice of wisdom1 not in the antiquarian1 but rather in the practical spirit4 ,the second temptation exists amongst us almost unchanged1 except that the vast accumulation and concentration of vice in great cities has provided that mournful band of women whom a great moralist has designated the ,vestal ,virgins of ,humanity1 consecrated to shame and ruin in order to preserve unsullied the sacred flame of the domestic altar4 ,the result of this terrible development in evil is that the deadly sin has become safer for the sinner1 and in certain circles of society has become recognized as at any rate a venial fault1 if not an innocent necessity4 ,it is well to read these chapters again with our eye on the modern evil1 and to let the voice of ,wisdom instruct us that the life is not the less blighted because the body remains unpunished1 and vice is not the less vicious because1 instead of ruining others for its gratification1 it feeds only on those who are already ruined4 ,if the ,wisdom of the ,old ,testament is obscure on this point1 the ,wisdom of the ,new ,testament gives no uncertain sound4 ,interpreting the doctrine of our book1 as ,christians are bound to do1 by the light of ,christ1 we can be left in no doubt that to all forms of impurity applies the one principle which is here applied to a specific form3 ,he doeth it that would destroy his own soul4 ,his own iniquities shall take the wicked1 and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin4#ba ,but with regard to the first of the two temptations1 it may be urged that in our settled and ordered society it is no longer felt4 ,we are not tempted to become highwaymen1 nor even to embark on the career of a professional thief4 ,we are disposed to skim lightly over the warning1 under the impression that it does not in any way apply to us4 ,but stop a moment6 ,wisdom spoke in the first instance direct to the vice of her day1 but she gave to her precepts a more general colouring1 which makes it applicable to all time1 when she said1 ,so are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain2 it taketh away the life of the owners thereof4#bb ,the specific form of greediness described in this first chapter may have become obsolete among decent and respectable people2 but that greed of gain which showed itself then in a particular form is alive to-day4 ,dressed in a different garb1 it presents temptations of a slightly different order2 but the spirit is the same1 the issue1 the fatal issue1 is the same4 ,it is a melancholy fact that in the most progressive and civilized communities the greed of gain1 instead of dying out1 becomes aggravated1 acquires a dominant influence1 and sways men as the master passion4 ,the ,united ,states1 a country so bountiful to her children that a settled peace might be supposed to pervade the life of men who can never be in fear of losing the necessaries1 or even the comforts1 of life1 are inflamed with a fierce and fiery passion4 ,society is one perpetual turmoil2 life is lived at the highest conceivable pressure1 because each individual is seeking to gain more and ever more4 ,in our own country1 though society is less fluid1 and ancient custom checks the action of disturbing forces1 the passion for gain becomes every year a more exacting tyranny over the lives of the people4 ,we are engaged in a pitiless warfare1 which we dignify by the name of competition2 the race is to the swift1 and the battle to the strong4 ,it becomes almost a recognized principle that man is at liberty to prey upon his fellow man4 ,the ,eternal ,law of ,wisdom declares that we should treat others as we treat ourselves1 and count the interests of others dear as our own2 it teaches us that we should show a tender consideration for the weak1 and be always ready1 at whatever cost1 to succour the helpless4 ,but competition says1 ,no2 you must try rather to beat the weak out of the field2 you must leave no device untried to reduce the strength of the strong1 and to divert into your own hands the grist which was going to your neighbour's mill4 ,this conflict between man and man is untempered by pity1 because it is supposed to be unavoidable as death itself4 ,in a community so constituted1 where business has fallen into such ways1 while the strong may hold their own with a clean hand1 the weaker are tempted to make up by cunning what they lack in strength1 and the weakest are ground as the nether millstone4 ,the pitilessness of the whole system is appalling1 the more so because it is accepted as necessary4 ,the ,bandit life has here emerged in a new form4 ,come1 let us lay wait for blood1 says the ,sweater or the ,fogger1 let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause2 let us swallow them up alive as ,sheol1 and whole as those that go down into the pit4#bc ,the ,bandit is an outcast from society1 and his hand is turned against the rich4 ,the ,sweater is an outcast from society1 and his hand is turned against the poor4 ,by laying wait he is able to demand1 from weak men1 women1 and children1 the long hours of the day for unceasing toil1 and the bitter hours of the night for hunger and cold1 until the gaunt creatures1 worn with weariness and despair1 find a solace in debauchery or an unhallowed rest in death4 ,now1 though the temptation to become a sweater may not affect many or any of us1 ,i should like to ask1 ,are there not certain trades or occupations1 into which some of us are tempted to enter1 perfectly honeycombed with questionable practices8 ,under the pretext that it is all business1 are not things done which can only be described as preying upon the innocence or the stupidity of our neighbours8 ,sometimes the promise is1 ,we shall find all precious substance1 we shall fill our houses with spoil4#bd ,sometimes the simple object is to escape starvation4 ,but there is the miserable temptation to sacrifice probity and honour1 to stifle compassion and thought1 in order to bring into our own coffers the coveted wealth4 ,and is there not1 ,i ask1 a similar temptation lurking in a thousand haunts more or less respectable--a temptation which may be described as the spirit of gambling8 ,the essence of all gambling1 whether it be called speculative business or gaming1 in stock and share markets or in betting clubs and turf rings1 is simply the attempt to trade on the supposed ignorance or misfortune of others1 and to use superior knowledge or fortune for the purpose1 not of helping1 but of robbing them4 ,it may be said that we do it in self-defence1 and that others would do the same by us2 yes1 just as the bandit says to the young man1 ,we do not want to injure the traveller yonder2 we want his purse4 ,he will try to shoot you2 you only shoot him in self-defence4 ,it is the subtlety of all gambling that constitutes its great danger4 ,it seems to turn on the principle that we may do what we like with our own2 it forgets that its object is to get hold of what belongs to others1 not by honest work or service rendered1 but simply by cunning and deception4 ,it is1 then1 only too easy to recognize1 in many varied shapes of so-called business and of so-called pleasure1 the ways of those who are greedy of gain4 ,wisdom has need to cry aloud in our streets1 in the chief place of concourse1 in the city1 in exchanges and marts4 ,her warning to the young man must be explicit and solemn3 ,my son1 if sinners entice thee1 consent thou not4 ,the bandit life still has its attractions1 though its methods are changed2 it plays upon the idle imagination3 it promises freedom from laborious and distasteful toil2 but it says nothing of the ways of death into which it leads4 ,now1 in the third place1 we come to the protest of ,divine ,wisdom against these evil ways in which men are tempted to walk4 ,they are1 she says1 folly of the most egregious kind4 ,there may be an apparent success or a momentary gratification2 precious substance may be amassed1 and houses may be filled with spoil2 but the people who are betrayed into these wicked courses shall be cut off from the land4#be ,they lay wait for their own blood2 greed taketh away the life of the owner thereof2#bf and as for the strange woman1 that flattereth with her words1 none that go unto her return again4#bg ,it needs but a clear vision or a little wise reflection to see the destructive tendency of ,evil4 ,it is the commonest fact of experience that where vice goes before1 vengeance follows after4 ,why do men not perceive it8 ,there is a kind of fatuity which blinds the eyes4 ,the empty-headed bird sees the net spread out before its eyes2#bh many of its fellows have already been caught2 the warning seems obvious enough1 but it is all in vain2 eager to get the bait--the dainty morsel lying there1 easily obtainable--the foolish creature approaches1 looks1 argues that it is swifter and stronger than its predecessors1 who were but weaklings6 it will wheel down1 take the food1 and be gone long before the flaps of the net can spring together4 ,in the same way the empty-headed youth1 warned by the experience of elders and the tender entreaties of father and mother1 assured that these ways of unjust gain are ways of ruin1 is yet rash enough to enter the snare in order to secure the coveted morsel4 ,and what is the issue8 ,setting at nought all the counsel of ,wisdom1 he would none of her reproof4#bi ,a momentary success led to wilder infatuation1 and convinced him that he was right1 and ,wisdom was wrong2 but his prosperity destroyed him4 ,soon in the shame of exposure and the misery of remorse he discovers his mistake4 ,or1 worse still1 no exposure comes2 success continues to his dying day1 and he leaves his substance to his heirs2 he eats of the fruits of his own way1 and is filled with his own devices1#cj but none the less he walks in the ways of darkness--in paths that are crooked and perverse--and he is consumed with inward misery4 ,the soul within is hard1 and dry1 and dead2 it is insensible to all feelings except feelings of torture4 ,it is a life so dark and wretched1 that when a sudden light is thrown upon its hidden secrets men are filled with astonishment and dismay1 that such things could exist underneath that quiet surface4 ,finally1 note these two characteristics of the ,divine ,wisdom3 7#a7 she is found in her fulness only by diligent seekers2 and 7#b7 rejected1 she turns into the most scornful and implacable foe4 ,she is to be sought as silver or hidden treasure is sought4 ,the search must be inspired by that eagerness of desire and passion of resolve with which avarice seeks for money4 ,no faculty must be left unemployed3 the ear is to be inclined to catch the first low sounds of wisdom2 the heart is to be applied to understand what is heard2 the very voice is to be lifted up in earnest inquiry4 ,it is a well-known fact that the fear of the ,lord and the knowledge of ,god are not fruits which grow on every wayside bush1 to be plucked by every idle passer-by1 to be dropped carelessly and trodden underfoot4 ,without seriousness and devotion1 without protracted and unflagging toil1 the things of ,god are not to be attained4 ,you must be up betimes2 you must be on your knees early2 you must lay open the book of ,wisdom1 pore over its pages1 and diligently turn its leaves1 meditating on its sayings day and night4 ,the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness must be sought1 yes1 and sought first1 sought exclusively1 as the one important object of desire4 ,that easy indifference1 that lazy optimism--it will all come right in the end--that habit of delay in deciding1 that inclination to postpone the eternal realities to vanishing shadows1 will be your ruin4 ,the time may come when you will call1 and there will be no answer1 when you will seek diligently1 but shall not find4 ,then in the day of your calamity1 when your fear cometh1 what a smile of scorn will seem to be on ,wisdom's placid brow1 and around her eloquent lips6 what derision will seem to ring in the well-remembered counsels which you rejected4#ca ,o tide in the affairs of men6 ,o tide in the affairs of ,god6 ,we are called to stand by death-beds1 to look into anguished eyes which know that it is too late4 ,the bandit of commercial life passes into that penal servitude which only death will end2 what agony breaks out and hisses in his remorse6 ,the wretched victim of lust passes from the house of his sin down the path which inclines unto death2 how terrible is that visage which just retains smirched traces that purity once was there6 ,the voice rings down the doleful road1 ,if ,i had only been wise1 if ,i had given ear1 wisdom might have entered even into my heart1 knowledge might have been pleasant even to my soul6 ,and wisdom still cries to us1 ,turn you at my reproof3 behold1 ,i will pour out my spirit unto you1 ,i will make known my words unto you4 ,,footnotes3 #aj ,prov4 ii4 #aj4 #aa ,prov4 i4 #cb4 #ab ,we may remind ourselves that1 according to the most probable conjecture1 this introduction to ,solomon's ,proverbs 7chaps1 i4-ix47 dates from the reign of ,josiah 7#fdj-fji ,b4,c474 #ac ,isa4 i4 #ae4 #ad ,isa4 lix4 #g4 #ae ,micah iii4 #aj4 #af ,jer4 ii4 #cd4 #ag ,jer4 xxii4 #ag4 #ah ,prov4 i4 #ad4 ,compare the proverb1 xvi4 #bi1 ,a man of violence enticeth his neighbour1 and leadeth him in a way that is not good4 #ai ,prov4 ix4 #ac-ah4 #bj ,prov4 v4 #ab-ad4 #ba ,prov4 vi4 #cb and v4 #bb4 #bb ,prov4 i4 #ai4 #bc ,a dog-chain sold in ,london at one shilling and threepence was found to have cost1 for materials twopence1 for labour three-farthings4 7,evidence before ,lord ,dunraven's ,commission on the ,sweating ,system74 #bd ,see ,prov4 i4 #ac4 #be ,prov4 ii4 #bb4 #bf ,prov4 i4 #ai4 #bg ,prov4 ii4 #ai4 #bh ,prov4 i4 #ag4 #bi ,prov4 i4 #be4 #cj ,prov4 i4 #ca1 #cb4 #ca ,prov4 i4 #bd-ca4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,earthly ,,rewards ,,of ,,wisdom4 ,,prov4 iii4 #a-aj4 ,the general teaching of these nine introductory chapters is that the ways of ,wisdom are pleasantness1 and all her paths are peace4 ,we are taught to look for the fruit of righteousness in long life and prosperity1 for the penalty of sin in premature destruction4 ,the upright shall dwell in the land1 and the perfect shall remain in it4 ,but the wicked shall be cut off from the land1 and they that deal treacherously shall be rooted out of it4#cb ,the foolish shall eat of the fruit of their own way1 and be filled with their own devices4 ,for the backsliding of the simple shall slay them1 and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them4 ,but whoso hearkeneth unto ,wisdom shall dwell securely1 and shall be quiet without fear of evil4#cc ,by ,wisdom thy days shall be multiplied1 and the years of thy life shall be increased4 ,if thou art wise1 thou art wise for thyself2 and if thou scornest1 thou alone shall bear it4 ,the ways of ,folly have this legend written over the entrance-gate3 ,the dead are there2 her guests are in the depths of ,sheol4#cd ,this teaching is summarized in the passage before us4 ,my son1 forget not my law2 but let thine heart keep my commandments3 for length of days1 and years of life1 and peace1 shall they add to thee4 ,let not mercy and truth1 those primary requirements of wisdom1 forsake thee3 bind them about thy neck2 write them upon the table of thy heart2 i4e4 let them be an ornament which strikes the eye of the beholder1 but also an inward law which regulates the secret thought4 ,so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of ,god and man2 that is to say1 the charm of thy character will conciliate the love of thy fellow creatures and of thy ,god1 while they recognize1 and ,he approves1 the spiritual state from which these graces grow4 ,trust in the ,lord with all thine heart1 and lean not upon thine own understanding3#ce in all thy ways acknowledge ,him1 and ,he shall direct thy paths4 ,be not wise in thine own eyes2 fear the ,lord1 and depart from evil3 it shall be health to thy navel1 and marrow to thy bones4 ,honour the ,lord with thy substance1 and with the first-fruits of all thy increase3 so shall thy barns be filled with plenty1 and thy vats shall overflow with new wine4#cf ,the rewards of wisdom1 then1 are health and long life1 the good-will of ,god and man1 prosperity1 and abundant earthly possessions4 ,as our ,lord would put it1 they who leave house1 or wife1 or brethren1 or parents1 or children1 for the kingdom of ,god's sake1 shall receive manifold more in this time1 even of the things which they surrender1 in addition to the everlasting life in the time to come4#cg ,this is a side of truth which we frequently allow to drop out of sight1 in order to emphasize another side which is considered more important4 ,we are accustomed to dwell on the promised joys of the future world as if godliness had no promise of the life which now is1 and in so doing we take all life and colour from those expected blessings4 ,the true view seems to be1 ,the way of wisdom1 the path of the upright1 is so full of joy1 so crowned with peace2 the life of the children of the kingdom is so wisely and bountifully provided for2 the inevitable pains and troubles which fall to their share are so transformed2 that from this present good we can infer a future better1 gathering hints and promises of what we shall be from the realized felicity of what we are4 ,if we try to estimate the temporal blessings of wisdom we do not thereby deny the larger and more lasting blessings which are to come2 while if we ignore these present joyful results we deprive ourselves of the surest evidence for the things which1 though hoped for1 are not yet seen4 ,we may1 then1 with much advantage try to estimate some of the immediate and apprehensible benefits of the life which is lived according to the dictates of heavenly wisdom4 7#a7 ,first of all1 the right life is a wholesome life--yes1 physically healthy4 ,obedience to the eternal moral laws brings health to the navel1 and that peculiar brightness which is like the freshness of dew4#ch ,the body is a sacred trust1 a temple of the ,holy ,ghost2 to use it ill is to violate the trust and to defile the temple4 ,the temperance of habit and orderliness of life which ,wisdom requires of her children are the first conditions of vitality4 ,they who seek health as the first consideration become valetudinarians and find neither health nor happiness2 but they who diligently follow the law of ,god and the impulse of ,his ,spirit find that health has come to them1 as it were1 by a side wind4 ,the peace of mind1 the cheerfulness of temper1 the transfer of all anxiety from the human spirit to the strong ,spirit of ,god1 are very favourable to longevity4 ,insurance societies have made this discovery1 and actuaries will tell you that in a very literal way the children of ,god possess the earth1 while the wicked are cut off4 ,yet no one thinks of measuring life only by days and years4 ,to live long with the constant feeling that life is not worth living1 or to live long with the constant apprehension of death1 must be counted as a small and empty life4 ,now1 it is the chief blessedness in the lot of the children of light that each day is a full1 rich day1 unmarred by recollections1 unshadowed by apprehensions4 ,each day is distinctly worth living2 it has its own exquisite lessons of cloud or sunshine1 its own beautiful revelations of love1 and pity1 and hope4 ,time does not hang heavily on the hands1 nor yet is its hurried flight a cause of vain regret2 for it has accomplished that for which it was sent1 and by staying longer could not accomplish more4 ,and if1 after all1 ,god has appointed but a few years for ,his child's earthly life1 that is not to be regretted2 the only ground for sorrow would be to live longer than ,his wise love had decreed4 ,if ,god thy death desires1 as ,st4 ,genest says to ,adrien in ,rotrou's tragedy1 life has been long enow4#ci ,the life in ,god is undoubtedly a healthy life1 nor is it the less healthy because the outward man has to decay1 and mortality has to be swallowed up of life4 ,from the standpoint of the ,proverbs this wider application of the truth was not as yet visible4 ,the problem which emerges in the book of ,job was not yet solved4 ,but already1 as ,i think we shall see1 it was understood that the actual and tangible rewards of righteousness were of incomparable price1 and made the prosperity of the wicked look poor and delusive4 7#b7 ,but there is a second result of the right life which ordinary observation and common sense may estimate4 ,wisdom is very uncompromising in her requirement of fair dealing between man and man4 ,she cannot away with those commercial practices which can only be described as devising evil against thy neighbour1 who dwelleth securely by thee4#dj ,her main economic principle is this1 that all legitimate trade is the mutual advantage of buyer and seller2 where the seller is seeking to dupe the buyer1 and the buyer is seeking to rob the seller1 trade ceases1 and the transaction is the mere inworking of the devil4 ,wisdom is quite aware that by these ways of the devil wealth may be accumulated2 she is not blind to the fact that the overreaching spirit of greed has its rich and splendid reward2 but she maintains none the less that the curse of the ,lord is in the house of the wicked2 but ,he blesseth the habitation of the righteous4#da ,it is a very impressive experience to enter the house of a great magnate whose wealth has been obtained by questionable means4 ,the rooms are beautiful2 works by the great masters shed their radiance of eternal truth from the walls2 the library gleams with the well-bound books of moralists and religious teachers4 ,the sons and daughters of the house are fair and elegant2 the smile of prosperity is in every curtained and carpeted room1 and seems to beam out of every illuminated window2 and yet the sensitive spirit cannot be rid of the idea that the curse of the ,lord is in the house4 ,on the other hand1 the honourable man whose paths have been directed by the ,lord1 no matter whether he be wealthy or merely in receipt1 as the result of a life's labour1 of his daily bread1 has a blessing in his house4 ,men trust him and honour him4#db ,his wealth flows as a fertilizing stream1 or if it run dry1 his friends1 who love him for himself1 make him feel that it was a good thing to lose it in order to find them4 ,in proportion as the fierce struggle of competition has made the path of fair dealing more difficult1 they who walk in it are the more honoured and loved4 ,nowhere does ,wisdom smile more graciously or open her hand to bless more abundantly1 than in the later years of a life which has in its earlier days been exposed1 and has offered a successful resistance1 to the strong temptations of unrighteous gain4 7#c7 ,further1 ,wisdom commands not only justice1 but generosity4 ,she requires her children to yield the first-fruits of all their possessions to the ,lord1 and to look tenderly upon ,his poor4 ,withhold not good from them to whom it is due1 when it is in the power of thine hand to do it4 ,say not unto thy neighbour1 ,go1 and come again1 and to-morrow ,i will give2 when thou hast it by thee4#dc ,and the teaching of experience is that those who act upon this precept purchase to themselves a good possession4 ,the main value of the ,mammon of unrighteousness is1 as our ,lord says1 to make to ourselves friends with it1 friends who shall receive us into the everlasting habitations4 ,the money we spend upon our own pleasures1 and to promote our own interests1 is spent and gone2 but the money given with an open hand to those poor children of ,god1 to whom it is strictly due1 is not spent at all1 but laid up in the most secure of banks4 ,there is no source of joy in this present world to be compared with the loving gratitude of the poor whom you have lovingly helped4 ,strangely enough1 men will spend much to obtain a title which carries no honour with it1 forgetting that the same money given to the needy and the suffering purchases the true honour1 which gives the noblest title4 ,for we are none of us so stupid as to think that the empty admiration of the crowd is so rich in blessing as the heartfelt love of the few4 ,but in enumerating these external results of right living we have only touched incidentally upon the deeper truths which lie at the root of it4 ,it is time to look at these4 ,god is necessarily so much to men1 men are necessarily so completely bereft without ,him1 that clear vision and strong action are utterly impossible apart from a humble dependence upon ,him4 ,the beginning of all wisdom is1 as we have seen1 in the recognition of ,god1 in personal submission to ,him1 in diligent obedience to all ,his directions4 ,this appears1 before we reflect1 to be a mere truism2 when we have reflected1 it proves to be a great revelation4 ,we do not at first see what is meant by trusting in the ,lord with all our heart2 we confuse it with that tepid1 conventional relation to ,god which too frequently passes current for faith4 ,we do not readily apprehend what is implied in acknowledging ,god in all our ways2 we suppose that it only means a general professing and calling ourselves ,christians4 ,consequently1 many of us who believe that we trust in the ,lord1 yet lean habitually and confidently upon our own understanding1 and are even proud of doing so2 we are wise in our own eyes long after our folly has become apparent to every one else2 we resent with a vehemence of righteous indignation any imputation upon the soundness of our judgment4 ,the very tone of mock humility in which we say1 ,i may be wrong1 but---- shows that we are putting a case which seems to us practically impossible4 ,consequently1 while we think that we are acknowledging ,god in all our ways1 ,he does not direct our paths2 indeed1 we never gave ,him an opportunity4 ,from first to last we directed them ourselves4 ,let us frankly acknowledge that we do not really believe in ,god's detailed concern with the affairs of the individual life2 that we do not1 therefore1 commit our way with an absolute surrender into ,his hand2 that we do not think of submitting to ,his disposal the choice of our profession1 the choice of our partner in life1 the choice of our place of residence1 the choice of our style of living1 the choice of our field of public service1 the choice of our scale of giving4 ,let us confess that we settled all these things in implicit and unquestioning reliance upon our own understanding4 ,i speak only in wide and fully admitted generalities4 ,if ,christians as a whole had really submitted their lives in every detail to ,god1 do you suppose that there would be something like fifty thousand ,christian ministers and ten times that number of ,christian workers at home1 while scarcely a twentieth of that number have gone out from us to labour abroad8 ,if ,christians had really submitted their lives to ,god1 would there have been these innumerable wretched marriages--man and wife joined together by no spiritual tie1 but by the caprice of fancy or the exigencies of social caste8 ,if ,christians had really asked ,god to guide them1 meaning what they said1 would all the rich be found in districts together1 while all the poor are left to perish in other districts apart8 ,if ,christians had really accepted ,god's direction1 would they be living in princely luxury while the heathen world is crying for the bread of life8 would they be spending their strength on personal aims while the guidance of social and political affairs is left in the hands of the self-interested8 would they be giving such a fragment of their wealth to the direct service of the ,kingdom of ,god8 ,we may answer very confidently that the life actually being lived by the majority of ,christian people is not the result of ,god directing their paths1 but simply comes from leaning on their own understanding4 ,and what a sorrowful result6 ,but in face of this apostasy of life and practice1 we can still joyfully point to the fact that they who do entirely renounce their own judgment1 who are small in their own eyes1 and who1 with their whole heart trusting ,him1 acknowledge ,him in all their ways1 find their lives running over with blessing1 and become the means of incalculable good to the world and to themselves4 ,it would not be easy to make plain or even credible1 to those who have never trusted in ,god1 how this guidance and direction are given4 ,not by miraculous signs or visible interpositions1 not by voices speaking from heaven1 nor even by messages from human lips1 but by ways no less distinct and infinitely more authoritative1 ,god guides men with ,his eye upon them1 tells them1 ,this is the way2 walk ye in it1 and whispers to them quite intelligibly when they turn to the right hand or the left4 ,with a noble universality of language1 this text says nothing of ,urim or ,thummim1 of oracle or seer1 of prophet or book3 ,he shall direct thy paths4#dd ,that is enough2 the method is left open to the wisdom and love of ,him who directs4 ,there is something even misleading in saying much about the methods2 to set limits to ,god's revelations1 as ,gideon did1 is unworthy of the faith which has become aware of ,god as the actual and living ,reality1 compared with whom all other realities are but shadows4 ,our ,lord did not follow the guidance of ,his ,father by a mechanical method of signs1 but by a more intimate and immediate perception of ,his will4 ,when ,jesus promised us the ,spirit as an indwelling and abiding presence ,he clearly intimated that the ,christian life should be maintained by the direct action of ,god upon the several faculties of the mind1 stimulating the memory1 quickening the perception of truth1 as well as working on the conscience and opening the channels of prayer4 ,when we wait for signs we show a defect of faith4 ,true trust in our ,heavenly ,father rests in the absolute assurance that ,he will make the path plain1 and leave us in no uncertainty about ,his will4 ,to doubt that ,he speaks inwardly and controls us1 even when we are unconscious of ,his control1 is to doubt ,him altogether4 ,when a few years have been passed in humble dependence on ,god1 it is then possible to look back and see with astonishing clearness how real and decisive the leadings of the ,spirit have been4 ,there were moments when two alternatives were present1 and we were tempted to decide on the strength of our own understanding2 but thanks be to ,his name1 we committed it to ,him4 ,we stepped forward then in the darkness2 we deserted the way which seemed most attractive1 and entered the narrow path which was shrouded in mist4 ,we knew ,he was leading us1 but we could not see4 ,now we see1 and we cannot speak our praise4 ,our life1 we find1 is all a plan of ,god1 and ,he conceals it from us1 as if on purpose to evoke our trust1 and to secure that close and personal communion which the uncertainty renders necessary4 ,are you suspicious of the ,inward ,light1 as it is called8 ,does it seem to open up endless possibilities of self-delusion8 ,are you disgusted with those who follow their own wilful way1 and seek a sanction for it by calling it the leading of ,god8 ,you will find that the error has arisen from not trusting the ,lord with the whole heart1 or from not acknowledging ,him in all ways4 ,the eye has not been single1 and the darkness therefore has been1 as our ,lord declares that it would be1 dense4#de ,the remedy is not to be found in leaning more on our own understanding1 but rather in leaning less4 ,wisdom calls for a certain absoluteness in all our relations to ,god1 a fearless1 unreserved1 and constantly renewed submission of heart to ,him4 ,wisdom teaches that in ,his will is our peace1 and that ,his will is learnt by practical surrender to ,his ways and commandments4 ,now1 is it not obvious that while the external results of wisdom are great and marked1 this inward result1 which is the spring of them all1 is more blessed than any8 ,the laws which govern the universe are the laws of ,god4 ,the ,stoic philosophy demanded a life according to ,nature4 ,that is not enough1 for by ,nature is meant ,god's will for the inanimate or non-moral creation4 ,where there is freedom of the will1 existence must not be according to ,nature1 but according to ,god2 that is to say1 life must be lived in obedience to ,god's laws for human life4 ,the inorganic world moves in ordered response to ,god's will4 ,we1 as men1 have to choose2 we have to discover2 we have to interpret4 ,woe to us if we choose amiss1 for then we are undone4 ,woe to us if we do not understand1 but in a brutish way follow the ordinances of death instead of the way of life6 ,now1 the supreme bliss of the heavenly wisdom is that it leads us into this detailed obedience to the law which is our life2 it sets us under the immediate and unbroken control of ,god4 ,well may it be said1 ,happy is the man that findeth wisdom1 and the man that getteth understanding4 ,for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver1 and the gain thereof than fine gold4 ,she is more precious than rubies4#df ,and yet rubies are very precious4 ,i learn that the valley in ,burmah where the most perfect rubies in the world are found is situated four thousand five hundred feet above the sea level1 in a range of mountainous spurs about eighty miles due north of ,mandalay2 but owing to the difficult nature of the intervening ground1 the valley can only be reached by a circuitous journey of some two hundred miles1 which winds through malarious jungles and over arduous mountain passes4 ,an eminent jewellers' firm is about to explore the ,valley of ,rubies1 though it is quite uncertain whether the stones may not be exhausted4 ,wisdom is more precious than rubies1 and none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her4 ,to know the secret of the ,lord1 to walk in this world not guideless1 but led by the ,lord of life1 to approach death itself not fearful1 but in the hands of that ,infinite ,love for whom death does not exist1 surely this is worth more than the gold and precious stones which belong only to the earth and are earthy4 ,this wisdom is laden with riches which cannot be computed in earthly treasures2 she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her3 and happy is every one that retaineth her4#dg ,the creation itself1 in its vast and infinite perfections1 with all its onian changes1 and all the mysterious ministries which order its details and maintain its activities1 comes from that same wisdom which controls the right human life4 ,the man1 therefore1 who is led in the ways of wisdom1 trusting wholly to ,god1 is in harmony with that great universe of which he forms an intelligent part3 he may lie down without being afraid2 he may walk securely without stumbling2 no sudden fear can assail him2 all the creatures of ,god are his sisters and his brothers2 even ,sister ,death1 as ,st4 ,francis used to say1 is a familiar and a friend to him4 ,we have been dwelling upon the outward results of ,heavenly ,wisdom--the health1 the prosperity1 the friends1 the favour with ,god and man which come to those who possess her4 ,we have been led to seek out the secret of her peace in the humble surrender of the will to its rightful ,lord4 ,but there is a caution needed1 a truth which has already occurred to the author of this chapter4 ,it is evident that while ,wisdom brings in her hand riches and honour1#dh health to the navel1 and marrow to the bones1#di it will not be enough to judge only by appearances4 ,as we have pondered upon the law of ,wisdom1 we have become aware that there may be an apparent health and prosperity1 a bevy of friends1 and a loud-sounding fame which are the gift not of ,wisdom1 but of some other power4 ,it will not do1 therefore1 to set these outward things before our eyes as the object of desire2 it will not do to envy the possessors of them4#ej ,the secret of the ,lord is with the upright1 and it may often be that they to whom ,his secret has become open will choose the frowns of adversity rather than the smile of prosperity1 will choose poverty rather than wealth1 will welcome solitude and contumely down in the ,valley of ,humiliation4 ,for it is an open secret1 in the sweet light of wisdom it becomes a self-evident truth1 that whom the ,lord loveth ,he reproveth2 even as a father the son in whom he delighteth4#ea ,there is1 then1 a certain paradox in the life of wisdom which no ingenuity can avoid4 ,her ways are ways of pleasantness1 but we may not seek them because they are pleasant1 for other ways are pleasant too1 or seem to be so for a while4 ,all her paths are peace1 but we do not enter them to gain peace1 for the peace comes often under the stress of a great conflict or in the endurance of a heavy chastening4 ,a thousand temporal blessings accompany the entrance into the narrow way1 but so far from seeking them1 it is well-nigh impossible to start on the way unless we lose sight and care of them altogether4 ,the ,divine ,wisdom gives us these blessings when we no longer set our hearts on them1 because while we set our hearts on them they are dangerous to us4 ,putting the truth in the clearest light which has been given to us1 the light of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 we are called upon to give up everything in order to seek first the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 and when we are absorbed in that as our true object of search everything is given back to us a hundredfold2 we are called upon to take up our cross and follow ,him1 and when we do so ,he bears the cross for us2 we are called upon to take ,his yoke upon us and to learn of ,him1 and immediately we take it--not before--we find that it is easy4 ,the wise1 loving only wisdom1 find that they have inherited glory2 the fools1 seeking only promotion1 find that they have achieved nothing but shame4#eb ,,footnotes3 #cb ,prov4 ii4 #ba1 #bb4 #cc ,prov4 i4 #ca-cc4 #cd ,prov4 ix4 #ab1 #ah4 #ce ,cf4 xxviii4 #bf1 ,he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool3 but whoso walketh wisely1 he shall be delivered4 #cf ,prov4 iii4 #a-aj4 #cg ,luke xviii4 #bi1 #cj4 #ch ,the ,hebrew word in iii4 #h;b is the same as that which is translated my drink in ,hosea ii4 #f4 ,the ,,lxx4 render it marrow1 but it means the moisture which in a natural and healthy state keeps the bones supple1 as opposed to the dryness which is produced by senility or disease4 #ci ,si ton ,dieu veut ta mort1 c'est dj trop vcu4 #dj ,prov4 iii4 #bi4 #da ,prov4 iii4 #cc4 #db ,cf4 xii4 #h1 ,a man shall be commended according to his wisdom3 but he that is of a perverse heart1 shall be despised4 #dc ,prov4 iii4 #bg1 #bh4 #dd ,prov4 iii4 #f4 #de ,matt4 vi4 #bb4 #df ,prov4 iii4 #ac-ae4 #dg ,prov4 iii4 #ah4 #dh ,prov4 iii4 #af4 #di ,prov4 iii4 #h4 #ej ,prov4 iii4 #ca4 #ea ,prov4 iii4 #ab4 #eb ,prov4 iii4 #ce4 ,,iv4 ,,education3 ,,the ,,child',s ,,thought ,,of ,,the ,,parent4#ec ,wisdom doth live with children round her knees4 ,,wordsworth4 ,he taught me1 and said unto me1 etc4--,,prov4 iv4 #d4 ,this chapter begins with a charming little piece of autobiography4 ,unhappily the writer is unknown4 ,that it was not ,solomon is plain from the fact that an only son is speaking1 and we know from #a ,chron4 iii4 #e that ,solomon was not an only son of his mother4#ed ,but the navet and beauty of the confession are the same1 whoever was the speaker4 ,the grateful memories of a father's teaching and of a mother's tenderness give point and force to the exhortations4 ,do ,i urge upon you1 young people1 the claims of ,wisdom8 the author seems to say4 ,well ,i speak from experience4 ,my parents taught me her wholesome and pleasant ways4 ,though ,i was an only son1 they did not by a selfish indulgence allow me to be spoiled4 ,they made me bear the yoke in my youth1 and now ,i live to thank them for it4 ,there is a great temptation to spoil an only child1 a temptation which few are able to resist4 ,parents can deny themselves everything for their idol1 except the pleasure of making the child a despot2 they can endure any pain for their despot1 except the pain of resisting him and instructing him4 ,and accordingly they have sometimes to experience the shame and anguish of their children's curses1 like that ,carthaginian mother1 of whom it is related that her son1 a convicted criminal1 passing to execution1 requested that he might whisper something to her1 and1 coming near1 bit off her ear1 saying that it was his revenge because she had brought him up so badly4 ,very different are the feelings of our author2 he owes much to his parents1 and is eager to acknowledge what he owes4 ,god has no kinder gift to give us than a hallowed home1 the memory of lessons from the lips of father and mother1 the early impressions of virtue and wisdom1 the sacred streams which rise from that fountainhead1 and that alone1 and run freshening and singing and broadening all through our lives4#ee ,with this happy example of good home influence before our eyes1 we will come to consider briefly two points which are suggested by it3 first1 the importance of these early impressions2 second1 the main features of the discipline presented in the chapter4 ,i4 ,not without reason has a great cardinal of the ,roman ,church said that if he may have the children up to the age of five1 he will not mind in whose hand they may be afterwards2 for it is almost impossible to exaggerate the permanent effects of those first tendencies impressed on the soul before the intellect is developed1 and while the soft1 plastic nature of the child is not yet determined in any particular direction4 ,things which we learn we can more or less unlearn1 but things which are blended with the elements of our composition1 made parts of us before we are conscious of our own personality1 defy the hand of time and the power of conscious effort to eradicate them4 ,john ,paton1 that noble missionary to the ,new ,hebrides1 has given us a vivid picture of his early home4 ,it was a plain lowland cottage1 with its but and ben1 and between the two a small chamber with a diminutive window shedding diminutive light on the scene4 ,to this room the children saw the father retire oftentimes a day1 and shut to the door2 they would occasionally hear the pathetic pleadings of the voice that prayed1 and they learnt to slip past the door on tiptoe4 ,they got to understand whence came that happy light upon their father's face2 they recognized it as a reflection from the ,divine presence1 in the consciousness of which he lived4 ,let a child draw his first breath in a house which possesses a sanctuary like that2 let him come to know by his quick childish perceptions that there is in his home a ladder set up from earth to heaven1 and that the angels of ,god go up and down on it2 let him feel the ,divine atmosphere in his face1 the air all suffused with heavenly light1 the sweetness and the calm which prevail in a place where a constant communion is maintained1--and in after years he will be aware of voices which call and hands which reach out to him from his childhood1 connecting him with heaven1 and even the most convincing negations of unbelief will be powerless to shake the faith which is deep as the springs of his life4 ,we learn to love1 not because we are taught to love1 but by some contagious influence of example or by some indescribable attraction of beauty4 ,our first love to ,wisdom1 or1 to use our modern phrase1 ,religion1 is won from us by living with those that love her4 ,she stole in upon us and captured us without any overpowering arguments2 she was beautiful and we felt that those whom we loved were constantly taken and held by her beauty4 ,just reflect upon this subtle and wonderful truth4 ,if my infancy is spent among those whose main thought is to get riches1 ,i acquire imperceptibly the love of money4 ,i cannot rationally explain my love2 but it seems to me in after life a truism1 that money is the principal thing2 ,i look with blank incredulity upon one who questions this ingrained truth4 ,but if in infancy ,i live with those whose love is wholly centred upon ,religion1 who cherish her with unaffected ardour and respond to her claims with kindling emotion1 ,i may in after life be seduced from her holy ways for awhile1 but ,i am always haunted by the feeling that ,i have left my first love1 ,i am restless and uneasy until ,i can win back that old bride-look of earlier days4 ,yes1 that old bride-look--for religion may be so presented to the child's heart as to appear for ever the bride elect of the soul1 from whose queenly love promotion may be expected1 whose sweet embraces bring a dower of honour1 whose beautiful fingers twine a chaplet of grace for the head and set a crown of glory on the brow4#ef ,the affections are elicited1 and often permanently fixed1 before the understanding has come into play4 ,if the child's heart is surrendered to ,god1 and moulded by heavenly wisdom1 the man will walk securely2 a certain trend will be given to all his thoughts2 a certain instinctive desire for righteousness will be engrafted in his nature2 and an instinctive aversion will lead him to decline the way of the wicked4#eg ,the first thing1 then1 is to give our children an atmosphere to grow up in2 to cultivate their affections1 and set their hearts on the things eternal2 to make them associate the ideas of wealth and honour1 of beauty and glory1 not with material possessions1 but with the treasures and rewards of ,wisdom4 ,,ii4 ,but now comes the question1 ,what is to be the definite teaching of the child8 for it is an unfailing mark of the parents who themselves are holy that they are impelled to give clear and memorable instruction to their children4 ,and this is where the great and constant difficulty emerges4 ,if the hallowed example would suffice we might count the task comparatively easy4 ,but some day the understanding will begin to assert itself2 the desire to question1 to criticise1 to prove1 will awake4 ,and then1 unless the truths of the heart have been applied to the conscience in such a way as to satisfy the reason1 there may come the desolate time in which1 while the habits of practical life remain pure1 and the unconscious influence of early training continues to be effective1 the mind is shaken by doubt1 and the hope of the soul is shrouded in a murky cloud4 ,now the answer to this question may for the ,christian be briefly given1 ,bring your children to ,christ1 teach them to recognize in ,him their ,saviour1 and to accept ,him as their present ,lord and gracious ,friend4 ,but this all-inclusive answer will not suffer by a little expansion on the lines which are laid down in the chapter before us4 ,when ,christ is made unto us ,wisdom1 the contents of ,wisdom are not altered1 they are only brought within our reach and made effectual in us4 ,bringing our children to ,christ will not merely consist in teaching them the doctrine of salvation1 but it will include showing them in detail what salvation is1 and the method of its realization4 ,the first object in the home life is to enable children to realize what salvation is4 ,it is easy to dilate on an external heaven and hell1 but it is not so easy to demonstrate that salvation is an inward state1 resulting from a spiritual change4 ,it is very strange that ,judaism should ever have sunk into a formal religion of outward observance1 when its own ,wisdom was so explicit on this point3 ,my son1 attend to my words2 incline thine ear unto my sayings4 ,let them not depart from thine eyes2 keep them in the midst of thine heart4 ,for they are life unto those that find them1 and health to all their flesh4 ,keep thy heart with all diligence2 for out of it are the issues of life4#eh ,the ,greek version1 which was very generally used in our ,lord's time1 had a beautiful variation of this last clause3 ,in order that thy fountains may not fail thee1 guard them in the heart4 ,it was after all but a new emphasis on the old teaching of the book of ,proverbs when ,jesus taught the necessity of heart purity1 and when ,he showed that out of the heart come forth evil thoughts1 and all the things which defile a man4#ei ,yet this lesson of inwardness has always been the most difficult of all to learn4 ,christianity itself has always been declining from it and falling into the easier but futile ways of externalism2 and even ,christian homes have usually failed in their influence on the young chiefly because their religious observances have fallen into formalism1 and while the outward conduct has been regulated1 the inner springs of action have not been touched4 ,all conduct is the outcome of hidden fountains4 ,all words are the expression of thoughts4 ,the first thing and the main thing is that the hidden fountains of thought and feeling be pure4 ,the source of all our trouble is the bitterness of heart1 the envious feeling1 the sudden outbreak of corrupt desire4 ,a merely outward salvation would be of no avail2 a change of place1 a magic formula1 a conventional pardon1 could not touch the root of the mischief4 ,i wish you would change my heart1 said the chief ,sekomi to ,livingstone1 ,give me medicine to change it1 for it is proud1 proud and angry1 angry always4 ,he would not hear of the ,new ,testament way of changing the heart2 he wanted an outward1 mechanical way--and that way was not to be found4 ,the child at first thinks in the same way4 ,heaven is a place to go to1 not a state to be in4 ,hell is an outward punishment to fly from1 not an inward condition of the soul4 ,the child has to learn that searching truth which ,milton tried to teach1 when he described ,satan in ,paradise1-- 444 within him hell ,he brings1 and round about him1 nor from hell ,one step1 no more than from himself1 can fly ,by change of place4 99 99 99 99 99 ',which way ,i fly is hell1' cries the miserable being1 'myself am hell2 ,and in the lowest deep1 a lower deep1 ,still threatening to devour me1 opens wide1 ,to which the hell ,i suffer seems a heaven4'#fj ,we are tempted in dealing with children to train them only in outward habits1 and to forget the inward sources which are always gathering and forming2 hence we often teach them to avoid the lie on the tongue1 to put away from them the froward mouth and perverse lips1#fa and yet leave them with the lies in the soul1 the deep inward unveracities which are their ruin4 ,we often succeed in bringing them up as respectable and decorous members of society1 and yet leave them a prey to secret sins2 they are tormented by covetousness which is idolatry1 by impurity1 and by all kinds of envious and malignant passions4 ,there is something even ghastly in the very virtues which are sometimes displayed in a highly civilised society like ours4 ,we perceive what appear to be virtues1 but we are haunted by an uncomfortable misgiving that they are virtues only in appearance2 they seem to have no connection with the heart2 they never seem to bubble up from irrepressible fountains2 they do not overflow4 ,there is charity1 but it is the charity only of the subscription list2 there is pity1 but it is the pity only of conventional humanitarianism2 there is the cold correctness of conduct1 or the formal accuracy of speech1 but the purity seems to be prudery because it is only a concession to the conventional sentiments of the hour1 and the truthfulness seems to be a lie because its very exactness seems to come1 not from springs of truth1 but only from an artificial habit4 ,we are frequently bound to notice a religion of a similar kind4 ,it is purely mimetic4 ,it is explained on the same principle as the assimilation of the colours of animals to the colours of their environment4 ,it is the unconscious and hypocritical instinct of self-preservation in a presumably religious society1 where not to seem religious would involve a loss of caste4 ,it may be regarded then as the first essential lesson which is to be impressed on the mind of a child1--the lesson coming next after the unconscious influences of example1 and before all dogmatic religious teaching1--that righteousness is the condition of salvation1 righteousness of the heart2 that the outward seeming goes for nothing at all1 but that ,god with a clear and quiet eye gazes down into the hidden depths1 and considers whether the fountains there are pure and perennial4 ,the second thing to be explained and enforced is singleness of heart1 directness and consistency of aim2 by which alone the inward life can be shaped to virtuous ends3 ,let thine eyes look right on1 and let thine eyelids look straight before thee4 ,make level the path of thy feet1 and let all thy ways be established4 ,turn not to the right hand nor to the left4#fb ,as our ,lord puts it1 ,if thine eye be single1 thy whole body shall be full of light4 ,this precept has frequently been given in the interests of worldly wisdom4 ,the boy is told that if he means to get on he must concentrate his thoughts and refuse to let any of the seductions around him divert his attention4 ,singleness of eye may be the most ruinous of evils--if a man has only a single eye to his own advantage1 and pursues nothing but his own pleasure4 ,the precept is given here however in the interests of heavenly wisdom1 and there is much to be said for the view that only the truly religious mind can be quite single-eyed4 ,selfishness1 though it seems to be an undivided aim1 is really a manifold of tumultuous and conflicting passions4 ,he only1 strictly speaking1 has one desire1 whose one desire is ,god4 ,the way of wisdom is after all the only way which has no bifurcations4 ,the man who has a single eye to his own interest may find before long that he has missed the way3 he pushes eagerly on1 but he flounders ever deeper in the mire2 for though he did not turn to the right hand nor to the left1 he never all the time removed his foot from evil4#fc ,the right life then is a steady progress undiverted by the alluring sights and sounds which appeal to the senses4#fd ,look not round about thee1 says ,ecclesiasticus1#fe in the streets of the city1 neither wander thou in the solitary places thereof4 ,we are to learn that the way goes through ,vanity ,fair1 but admits of no divergences into its tempting booths or down its alluring alleys2 the lust of the eye1 the lust of the flesh1 the vainglory of life1 are not to distract the mind which has but one purpose in view4 ,the path is to be kept level2#ff as we should say1 an even tenor is to be preserved2 we are to follow the plain unexciting path of duty1 the beaten track of sober rightness4 ,for while it is the mark of all unhallowed ways that they plunge up and down from despondency to wild elation1 from giddy raptures to heartstricken depression1 it is the sure sign of ,god's hand in our life when the paths are made level4#fg ,ah those tempting ways1 on which shine the false lights of imagined duty1 of refined selfishness1 or of gilded sensuality4 ,surely it is the result of ,wisdom1 the gift of ,god's grace1 to keep the eyes looking right on4 ,but it is time to sum up4 ,here is a great contrast between those whose early training has been vicious or neglected1 and those who have been taught in the way of wisdom1 led in paths of uprightness4 ,it is a contrast which should constantly be present to the eyes of parents with a warning and an encouragement4 ,the unfortunate child whose infancy was passed in the midst of baleful example1 whose heart received no instruction from parents' lips1 grows up like one stumbling in the dark1 and the darkness deepens as he advances2 observers cannot tell--he himself cannot tell--what it is at which he stumbles4#fh ,there is the old ingrained vice which comes out again and again after every attempted reformation2 there is the old shuffling habit2 there is the old unhallowed set of the thoughts and the tastes2 there is the old incurable pharisaism1 with its tendency to shift all blame on to other people's shoulders4 ,it is all like the damp in the walls of an ill-built house4 ,in dry weather there are only the stains1 but those stains are the prophecy of what will be again when the wet weather returns4 ,the corrupt ways have become a second nature2 they are as sleep and food to the wretched creature2 to abstain from iniquity creates the restlessness of insomnia2 if he has not been spreading an influence of evil and leading others astray1 he feels as if he had been deprived of his daily food1 and he is consumed with a fiery thirst4#fi ,even when such an one is genuinely born again1 the old hideous habits will appear like seams in the character2 and temptations will send the flush along the tell-tale scars4 ,on the other hand1 the life which starts from the sweet examples of a hallowed home1 and all its timely chastisements and discipline1 presents a most entrancing history4 ,at first there is much which is difficult to bear1 much against which the flesh revolts4 ,the influences of purity are cold like the early dawn1 and the young child's spirit shrinks and shivers2 but with every step along the levelled road the light broadens and the air becomes warmer1--the dawn shines more and more unto the perfect day4#gj ,as the character forms1 as the habits become fixed1 as the power of resistance increases1 a settled strength and a lasting peace gladden the life4 ,the rays of heavenly wisdom not only shine on the face1 but suffuse the very texture of the being1 so that the whole body is full of light4 ,eventually it begins to appear that truth and purity1 pity and charity1 have become instinctive4 ,like a well-disciplined army1 they spring at once into the ranks1 and are ready for service even on a surprise4 ,the graces of holy living come welling up from those untainted inner springs1 and1 be the surroundings ever so dry1 the fountains fail not4 ,the habit of single-eyed devotion to right avails even where there is no time for reflection2 more and more the seductions of the senses lose their point of attack in this disciplined spirit4 ,there is a freedom in the gait1 for holiness has ceased to be a toilsome calculation1--the steps of the spiritual man are not straitened4 ,there is a swiftness in all action1--the feet are shod with a joyous and confident preparation1 for the fear of stumbling is gone4#ga ,with daily growing gratitude and veneration does such an one look back upon the early home of piety and tenderness4 ,,footnotes3 #ec ,this subject1 which occupies so large a part of the book1 is further treated in ,lect4 ,,xxiii4 #ed ,it is noteworthy that the ,,lxx4 in ver4 #b seek to maintain the ,solomonic authorship by deliberately altering the words4 #ee ,cf4 the beautiful family picture of the linked and mutually blessed generations in the proverb1 ,children's children are the crown of old men2 and the glory of children are their fathers 7xvii4 #f74 #ef ,prov4 iv4 #h1 #i4 #eg ,prov4 iv4 #ad4 #eh ,prov4 iv4 #bj-bc4 #ei ,matt4 xv4 #ai4 #fj ,paradise ,lost1 iv4 #bj1 etc41 and #ge4 ,cf4 also ix4 #abj3-- ,and the more ,i see ,pleasures about me1 so much more ,i feel ,torment within me1 as from hateful siege ,of contraries4 ,all good to me becomes ,bane1 and in heaven much worse would be my state4 #fa ,prov4 iv4 #bd4 #fb ,prov4 iv4 #be-bg4 #fc ,prov4 iv4 #bg4 #fd ,cf4 xvii4 #bd1 ,wisdom is before the face of him that hath understanding2 but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth4 #fe ,eccles4 ix4 #g4 #ff ,prov4 iv4 #bf4 #fg ,prov4 v4 #ba4 #fh ,prov4 iv4 #ai4 #fi ,prov4 iv4 #af1 #ag4 #gj ,prov4 iv4 #ah1 margin4 #ga ,prov4 iv4 #ab4 ,v4 ,,the ,,ways ,,and ,,issues ,,of ,,sin4 ,his own iniquities shall take the wicked1 ,and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin4 ,he shall die for lack of instruction2 ,and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray4 --,,prov4 v4 #bb1 #bc4 ,it is the task of ,wisdom1 or1 as we should say1 of the ,christian teacher1--and a most distasteful task it is1--to lay bare with an unsparing hand 7#a7 the fascinations of sin1 and 7#b7 the deadly entanglements in which the sinner involves himself1--there is a way which seemeth right unto a man1 but the end thereof are the ways of death4#gb ,it would be pleasanter1 no doubt1 to avoid the subject1 or at least to be content with a general caution and a general denunciation2 one is tempted to take refuge in the opinion that to mention evils of a certain kind with any particularity is likely to suggest rather than to suppress1 to aggravate rather than to lessen1 them4 ,but ,wisdom is not afraid of plain speaking2 she sees that shame is the first result of the ,fall1 and behind the modest veil of shame the devil works bravely4 ,there is a frankness and a fulness in the delineations of this chapter and of chapter seven which modern taste would condemn2 but the motive cannot be mistaken4 ,holiness describes the ways of sin in detail to create a horror and a hatred of them2 she describes exactly what is within the tempting doors1--all the glamour1 all the softness1 all the luxury1 all the unhallowed raptures1--and shows distinctly how these chambers are on the incline of death1 in order that curiosity1 the mother of prurience1 may be stifled1 and the unwary may be content to remove his way far from the temptress1 and to come not nigh the door of her house4#gc ,but this1 it may be said1 is the plea urged by a certain school of modern ,realism in ,art4 ,let us depict--such is the argument--in all its hideous literalness the sinful life1 and leave it to work its own impressions1 and to act as a warning to those who are entering on the seductive but dangerous ways4 ,from this principle--so it may be said--has sprung the school of writers at whose head is ,m4 ,zola4 ,yes1 but to counteract vice by depicting it is so hazardous a venture that none can do it successfully who is not fortified in virtue himself1 and constantly led1 directed1 and restrained by the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4 ,just in this point lies the great difference between the realism of the ,bible and the realism of the ,french novel4 ,in the first the didactic purpose is at once declared1 and the writer moves with swift precision through the fascinating scene1 to lift the curtain and show death beyond2 in the last the motive is left doubtful1 and the writer moves slowly1 observantly1 even gloatingly1 through the abomination and the filth1 without any clear conception of the ,divine ,eye which watches1 or of the ,divine ,voice which condemns4#gd ,there is a corresponding difference in the effects of the two4 ,few men could study these chapters in the book of ,proverbs without experiencing a healthy revolt against the iniquity which is unveiled2 while few men can read the works of modern realism without contracting a certain contamination1 without a dimming of the moral sense and a weakening of the purer impulses4 ,we need not then complain that the powers of imaginative description are summoned to heighten the picture of the temptation1 because the same powers are used with constraining effect to paint the results of yielding to it4 ,we need not regret that the ,temptress1 ,mistress ,folly1 as she is called1 is allowed to utter all her blandishments in full1 to weave her spells before our eyes1 because the voice of ,wisdom is in this way made more impressive and convincing4 ,pulpit invectives against sin often lose half their terrible cogency because we are too prudish to describe the sins which we denounce4 ,i4 ,the glamours of sin and the safeguard against them4--,there is no sin which affords so vivid an example of seductive attraction at the beginning1 and of hopeless misery at the end1 as that of unlawful love4 ,the illustration which we generally prefer1 that drawn from the abuse of alcoholic drinks1 occurs later on in the book1 at xxiii4 #ca1 #cb2 but it is not so effectual for the purpose1 and we may be thankful that the ,divine ,wisdom is not checked in its choice of matter by our present-day notions of propriety4 ,there are two elements in the temptation3 there is the smooth and flattering speech1 the outpouring of compliment and pretended affection expressed in vii4 #ae1 the subtle and enflaming suggestion that stolen waters are sweet2#ge and there is the beauty of form enhanced by artful painting of the eyelids1#gf and by all those gratifications of the senses which melt the manhood and undermine the resisting power of the victim4#gg ,in our own time we should have to add still further elements of temptation1--sophistical arguments and oracular utterances of a false science1 which encourages men to do for health what appetite bids them do for pleasure4 ,after all1 this is but a type of all temptations to sin4 ,there are weak points in every character2 there are places in every life where the descent is singularly easy4 ,a siren voice waylays us with soft words and insinuating arguments2 gentle arms are thrown around us1 and dazzling visions occupy our eyes2 our conscience seems to fade away in a mist of excited feeling2 there is a sort of twilight in which shapes are uncertain1 and the imagination works mightily with the obscure presentations of the senses4 ,we are taken unawares2 the weak point happens to be unguarded2 the fatal bypath with its smooth descent is1 as it were1 sprung upon us4 ,now the safeguard against the specific sin before us is presented in a true and whole-hearted marriage4#gh ,and the safeguard against all sin is equally to be found in the complete and constant preoccupation of the soul with the ,divine ,love4 ,the author is very far from indulging in allegory1--his thoughts are occupied with a very definite and concrete evil1 and a very definite and concrete remedy2 but instinctively the ,christian ear detects a wider application1 and the ,christian heart turns to that strange and exigent demand made by its ,lord1 to hate father and mother1 and even all human ties1 in order to concentrate on ,him an exclusive love and devotion4 ,it is our method to state a general truth and illustrate it with particular instances2 it is the method of a more primitive wisdom to dwell upon a particular instance in such a way as to suggest a general truth4 ,catching1 therefore1 involuntarily the deeper meanings of such a thought1 we notice that escape from the allurements of the strange woman is secured by the inward concentration of a pure wedded love4 ,in the permitted paths of connubial intimacy and tenderness are to be found raptures more sweet and abiding than those which are vainly promised by the ways of sin4 ,here ,love his golden shafts employs1 here lights ,his constant lamp1 and waves his purple wings1 ,reigns here and revels2 not in the bought smile ,of harlots1 loveless1 joyless1 unendeared4#gi ,forbidding to marry is a device of ,satan2 anything which tends to degrade or to desecrate marriage bears on its face the mark of the ,tempter4 ,it is at our peril that we invade the holy mystery1 or brush away from its precincts the radiant dews which reflect the light of ,god4 ,nay1 even the jest and the playful teasing which the subject sometimes occasions are painfully inappropriate and even offensive4 ,we do ill to smile at the mutual absorption and tender endearments of the young married people2 we should do better to pray that their love might grow daily more absorbing and more tender4 ,i would say to brides and bridegrooms3 ,magnify the meaning of this sacred union of yours2 try to understand its ,divine symbolism4 ,labour diligently to keep its mystical passion pure and ardent and strong4 ,remember that love needs earnest1 humble1 self-suppressing cultivation1 and its bloom is at first easily worn off by negligence or laziness4 ,husbands1 labour hard to make your assiduous and loving care more manifest to your wives as years go by4 ,wives1 desire more to shine in the eyes of your husbands1 and to retain their passionate and chivalrous admiration1 than you did in the days of courtship4 ,where marriage is held honourable1--a sacrament of heavenly significance1--where it begins in a disinterested love1 grows in educational discipline1 and matures in a complete harmony1 an absolute fusion of the wedded souls1 you have at once the best security against many of the worst evils which desolate society1 and the most exquisite type of the brightest and loveliest spiritual state which is promised to us in the world to come4 ,our sacred writings glorify marriage1 finding in it more than any other wisdom or religion has found4 ,the ,bible1 depicting the seductions and fascinations of sin1 sets off against them the infinitely sweeter joys and the infinitely more binding fascinations of this condition which was created and appointed in the time of man's innocence1 and is still the readiest way of bringing back the ,paradise which is lost4 ,,ii4 ,the binding results of sin4--,it is interesting to compare with the teaching of this chapter the doctrine of ,karma in that religion of ,buddha which was already winning its victorious way in the far ,east at the time when these introductory chapters were written4 ,the ,buddha said in effect to his disciple1 ,you are in slavery to a tyrant set up by yourself4 ,your own deeds1 words1 and thoughts1 in the former and present states of being1 are your own avengers through a countless series of lives4 ,if you have been a murderer1 a thief1 a liar1 impure1 a drunkard1 you must pay the penalty in your next birth1 either in one of the hells1 or as an unclean animal1 or as an evil spirit1 or as a demon4 ,you cannot escape1 and ,i am powerless to set you free4 ,not in the heavens1 so says the ,dhammapada1 not in the midst of the sea1 not if thou hidest thyself in the clefts of the mountains1 wilt thou find a place where thou canst escape the force of thy own evil actions4 ,his own iniquities shall take the wicked1 and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin4 ,this terrible truth is illustrated with mournful emphasis in the sin of the flesh which has been occupying our attention1 a sin which can only be described as taking fire into the bosom or walking upon hot coals1 with the inevitable result that the clothes are burnt and the feet are scorched4#hj ,there are four miseries comparable to four strong cords which bind the unhappy transgressor4 ,first of all1 there is the shame4 ,his honour is given to others1#ha and his reproach shall not be wiped away4#hb ,the jealous rage of the offended husband will accept no ransom1 no expiation2#hc with relentless cruelty the avenger will expose to ruin and death the hapless fool who has transgressed against him4 ,secondly1 there is the loss of wealth4 ,the ways of debauchery lead to absolute want1 for the debauchee1 impelled by his tormenting passions1 will part with all his possessions in order to gratify his appetites1#hd until1 unnerved and 'feckless1' incapable of any honest work1 he is at his wits' end to obtain even the necessaries of life4#he ,for the third binding cord of the transgression is the loss of health2 the natural powers decay1 the flesh and the body are consumed with loathsome disease4#hf ,yet this is not the worst4 ,worse than all the rest is the bitter remorse1 the groaning and the despair at the end of the shortened life4 ,how have ,i hated instruction1 and my heart despised reproof6#hg ,going down to the chambers of death1 wise too late1 the victim of his own sins remembers with unspeakable agony the voice of his teachers1 the efforts of those who wished to instruct him4 ,there is an inevitableness about it all1 for life is not lived at a hazard2 every path is clearly laid bare from its first step to its last before the eyes of the ,lord2 the ups and downs which obscure the way for us are all level to ,him4#hh ,not by chance1 therefore1 but by the clearest interworking of cause and effect1 these fetters of sin grow upon the feet of the sinner1 while the ruined soul mourns in the latter days4#hi ,the reason why ,wisdom cries aloud1 so urgently1 so continually1 is that she is uttering eternal truths1 laws which hold in the spiritual world as surely as gravitation holds in the natural world2 it is that she sees unhappy human beings going astray in the greatness of their folly1 dying because they are without the instruction which she offers4#ij ,but now1 to turn to the large truth which is illustrated here by a particular instance1 that our evil actions1 forming evil habits1 working ill results on us and on others1 are themselves the means of our punishment4 ,the gods are just1 and of our pleasant vices ,make instruments to plague us4#ia ,we do not rightly conceive ,god or ,judgment or ,hell until we recognize that in spiritual and moral things there is a binding law1 which is no arbitrary decree of ,god1 but the essential constitution of ,his universe4 ,he does not punish1 but sin punishes2 ,he does not make hell1 but sinners make it4 ,as our ,lord puts it1 the terrible thing about all sinning is that one may become involved in an eternal sin4#ib ,it is by an inherent necessity that this results from a sin against the ,holy ,spirit within us4 ,we cannot too frequently1 or too solemnly1 dwell upon this startling fact4 ,it is a fact established1 not by a doubtful text or two1 nor by a mere ipse dixit of authority1 but by the widest possible observation of life1 by a concurrent witness of all teachers and all true religions4 ,no planetary movement1 no recurrence of the seasons1 no chemical transformation1 no physiological growth1 no axiom of mathematics1 is established on surer or more irrefutable grounds4 ,sin itself may even be defined1 from an induction of facts1 as the act of a human will which1 being contrary to the ,divine ,will1 reacts with inevitable evil upon the agent4 ,sin is a presumptuous attempt on the part of a human will to disturb the irresistible order of the ,divine ,will1 and can only draw down upon itself those lightnings of the ,divine power1 which otherwise would have flashed through the heavens beautiful and beneficent4 ,let us1 then1 try to impress upon our minds that1 not in the one sin of which we have been speaking only1 but in all sins alike1 certain bands are being woven1 certain cords twisted1 certain chains forged1 which must one day take and hold the sinner with galling stringency4 ,every sin is preparing for us a band of shame to be wound about our brows and tightened to the torture-point4 ,there are many gross and generally condemned actions which when they are exposed bring their immediate penalty4 ,to be discovered in dishonourable dealing1 to have our hidden enormities brought into the light of day1 to forfeit by feeble vices a fair and dignified position1 will load a conscience which is not quite callous with a burden of shame that makes life quite intolerable4 ,but there are many sins which do not entail this scornful censure of our fellows1 sins with which they have a secret sympathy1 for which they cherish an ill-disguised admiration1--the more heroic sins of daring ambition1 victorious selfishness1 or proud defiance of ,god4 ,none the less these tolerated iniquities are weaving the inevitable band of shame for the brow3 we shall not always be called on only to face our fellows1 for we are by our creation the sons of ,god1 in whose image we are made1 and eventually we must confront the children of ,light1 must look straight up into the face of ,god1 with these sins--venial as they were thought--set in the light of ,his countenance4 ,then will the guilty spirit burn with an indescribable and unbearable shame1--,to hide my head6 ,to bury my eyes that they may not see the rays of the ,eternal ,light1 will be its cry4 ,may we not say with truth that the shame which comes from the judgment of our fellows is the most tolerable of the bands of shame8 ,again1 every sin is preparing for us a loss of wealth1 of the only wealth which is really durable1 the treasure in the heavens2 every sin is capable of bringing a man to a piece of bread1#ic filching from him all the food on which the spirit lives4 ,it is too common a sight to see a young spendthrift who has run through his patrimony in a few years1 who must pass through the bankruptcy court1 and who has burdened his estate and his name with charges and reproaches from which he can never again shake himself free4 ,but that is only a superficial illustration of a spiritual reality4 ,every sin is the precursor of spiritual bankruptcy2 it is setting one's hand to a bill which1 when it comes in1 must break the wealthiest signatory4 ,that little sin of yours1 trivial as it seems1--the mere inadvertence1 the light-hearted carelessness1 the petty spleen1 the innocent romancing1 the gradual hardening of the heart1--is1 if you would see it1 like scratching with a pen through and through a writing on a parchment4 ,what is this writing8 ,what is this parchment8 ,it is a title-deed to an inheritance1 the inheritance of the saints in light4 ,you are quietly erasing your name from it and blotching its fair characters4 ,when you come to the day of account1 you will show your claim1 and it will be illegible4 ,what1 you will say1 am ,i to lose this great possession for this trifling scratch of the pen8 ,even so1 says the ,inexorable2 it is precisely in this way that the inheritance is lost2 not1 as a rule1 by deliberate and reckless destruction of the mighty treasure1 but by the thoughtless triviality1 the indolent easifulness4 ,see you1 it is the work of your own hand4 ,his own iniquities shall take the wicked4 ,again1 every sin is the gradual undermining of the health1 not so much the body's1 as the soul's health4 ,those are1 as it were1 the slightest sins by which the flesh and the body are consumed4 ,who hath wounds without cause8 ,who hath redness of eyes8 ,who is stricken and hurt and beaten1 bitten as if by an adder1 stung as if by a serpent8#id ,it is the victim of drink1 and every feature shows how he is holden by the cords of his sin4 ,but there is one who is drunk with the blood of his fellow-men1 and has thriven at the expense of the poor1 who yet is temperate1 healthy1 and strong4 ,the disease of his soul does not come to the light of day4 ,none the less it is there4 ,the sanity of soul which alone can preserve the life in the ,eternal ,world and in the presence of ,god is fatally disturbed by every sin4 ,a virus enters the spirit2 germs obtain a lodgment there4 ,the days pass1 the years pass4 ,the respected citizen1 portly1 rich1 and courted1 goes at last in a good old age from the scene of his prosperity here1--surely to a fairer home above8 ,alas1 the soul if it were to come into those fadeless mansions would be found smitten with a leprosy4 ,this is no superficial malady2 through and through the whole head is sick1 the whole heart faint4 ,strange that men never noticed it down there in the busy world4 ,but the fact is1 it is the air of heaven which brings out these suppressed disorders4 ,and the diseased soul whispers1 ,take me out of this air1 ,i beseech you1 at all costs4 ,i must have change of climate4 ,this atmosphere is intolerable to me4 ,i can only be well out of heaven4 ,poor spirit1 murmur the angels1 he says the truth2 certainly he could not live here4 ,finally1 the worst chain forged in the furnace of sin is ,remorse3 for no one can guarantee to the sinner an eternal insensibility2 rather it seems quite unavoidable that some day he must awake1 and standing shamed before the eyes of his ,maker1 stripped of all his possessions and hopelessly diseased in soul1 must recognize clearly what might have been and now cannot be4 ,memory will be busy4 ,ah6 that cursed memory6 he cries4 ,it brings back all the gentle pleadings of his mother in that pure home long ago2 it brings back all his father's counsels2 it brings back the words which were spoken from the pulpit1 and all the conversations with godly friends4 ,he remembers how he wavered--,shall it be the strait and hallowed road1 or shall it be the broad road of destruction8 ,he remembers all the pleas and counterpleas1 and how with open eyes he chose the way which1 as he saw1 went down to death4 ,and now8 ,now it is irrevocable4 ,he said he would take his luck1 and he has taken it4 ,he said ,god would not punish a poor creature like him4 ,god does not punish him4 ,no1 there is ,god making level all his paths now as of old4 ,this punishment is not ,god's2 it is his own4 ,his own iniquities have taken the wicked2 he is held with the cords of his sin4 ,here then is the plain1 stern truth1--a law1 not of ,nature only1 but of the ,universe4 ,as you look into a fact so solemn1 so awful2 as the cadence of the chapter closes1 do you not seem to perceive with a new clearness how men needed ,one who could take away the sins of the world1 ,one who could break those cruel bonds which men have made for themselves8 ,,footnotes3 #gb ,prov4 xiv4 #ab4 #gc ,prov4 v4 #h4 #gd ,the ,laureate has touched with stern satire on this debased modern ,realism3-- ,author1 atheist1 essayist1 novelist1 realist1 rhymester1 play your part1 ,paint the mortal shame of ,nature with the living hues of ,art4 ,rip your brothers' vices open1 strip your own foul passions bare1 ,down with ,reticence1 down with ,reverence--forward--naked--let them stare6 ,feed the budding rose of boyhood with the drainage of your sewer1 ,send the drain into the fountain lest the stream should issue pure4 ,set the maiden fancies wallowing in the troughs of ,zolaism1 ,forward1 forward1--aye and backward1 downward too into the abysm6 --,the new ,locksley ,hall4 #ge ,prov4 ix4 #ag4 #gf ,prov4 vi4 #be4 #gg ,prov4 vii4 #af1 #ag4 #gh ,prov4 v4 #ae-ai4 #gi ,paradise ,lost4 #hj ,prov4 vi4 #bg1 #bh4 #ha ,prov4 v4 #i4 #hb ,prov4 vi4 #cc4 #hc ,prov4 vi4 #cd1 #ce4 #hd ,prov4 v4 #aj4 #he ,prov4 vi4 #bf4 #hf ,prov4 v4 #aa4 #hg ,prov4 v4 #ab-ad4 #hh ,prov4 v4 #ba4 #hi ,it is1 if we may say so1 a maxim of modern science that ,a sin without punishment is as impossible1 as complete a contradiction in terms1 as a cause without an effect 7,w4 ,r4 ,gregg74 #ij ,prov4 v4 #bc4 #ia ,king ,lear4 #ib ,mark iii4 #bf4 #ic ,prov4 vi4 #bf4 #id ,prov4 xxiii4 #bi1 #cb4 ,,vi4 ,,certain ,,examples ,,of ,,the ,,binding ,,character ,,of ,,our ,,own ,,actions4 ,the surety 444 the sluggard 444 and the worthless person4--,,prov4 vi4 #a1 #f1 #ab4 ,from the solemn principle announced at the close of the last chapter the teacher passes1 almost unconscious of the thought which determines his selection of subjects1 to illustrate the truth by three examples1--that of the ,surety1 that of the ,sluggard1 that of the ,worthless ,man4 ,and then1 because the horrors of impurity are the most striking and terrible instance of all1 this subject1 coming up again at v4 #bj1 like the dark ground tone of the picture1 finally runs into the long and detailed description of chap4 vii4 ,these three examples are full of interest1 partly because of the light they throw on the habits and moral sentiments of the time in which this ,introduction was written1 but chiefly because of the permanent teaching which is luminous in them all1 and especially in the third4 ,we may spend a few minutes upon the first4 ,the young man finding his neighbour in monetary difficulties1 consents in an easy-going way to become his surety2 he enters into a solemn pledge with the creditor1 probably a ,phnician money-lender1 that he will himself be responsible if the debtor is not prepared to pay at the appointed time4 ,he now stands committed2 he is like a roe that is caught by the hunter1 or a bird that is held by the fowler1 in the hand of his neighbour4 ,his peace of mind1 and his welfare1 depend no longer upon himself1 but upon the character1 the weakness1 the caprice of another4 ,this is a good illustration of the way in which a thoughtless action may weave cruel bands to bind the unwary4 ,looking at the matter from this point of view1 our book strongly and frequently denounces the practice of suretiship4 ,to become surety for another shows that you are void of understanding4 ,so foolish is the action that it is compared to the surrender of one's own garments1 and even to the loss of personal freedom4 ,a proverb declares3 ,he that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it1 but he that hateth suretiship is sure4#ie ,if then the young man has immeshed himself in obligations of this kind1 he is recommended to spare no pains1 not to stand upon a false pride1 but to go with all urgency1 with frank abasement1 to the man for whom he has pledged his credit1 and at all costs to get released from the obligation4 ,be thou not1 says ,wisdom1 one of them that strike hands1 or of them that are sureties for debts3 if thou hast not wherewith to pay1 why should he take away thy bed from under thee8#if ,we feel at once that there is another side to the question4 ,there may be cases in which a true brotherliness will require us to be surety for our friend4 ,an honest man is surety for his neighbour1 but he that is impudent will forsake him1 says ,ecclesiasticus4 ,and from another point of view an injunction has to be given to one who has persuaded his friend to stand as his surety1--,forget not the friendship of thy surety1 for he hath given his life for thee4 ,a sinner will overthrow the good estate of his surety1 and he that is of an unthankful mind will leave him in danger that delivered him4 ,but confining ourselves to the standpoint of the text1 we may well raise a note of warning against the whole practice4 ,as ,ecclesiasticus himself says1 ,suretiship hath undone many of good estate1 and shaken them as a wave of the sea3 mighty men hath it driven from their houses1 so that they wandered among strange nations4 ,a wicked man transgressing the commandments of the ,lord shall fall into suretiship4#ig ,we may say perhaps that the truly moral course in these relations with our fellows lies here3 if we can afford to be a surety for our neighbour1 we can clearly afford to lend him the money ourselves4 ,if we cannot afford to lend it to him1 then it is weak and foolish1 and may easily become wicked and criminal1 to make our peace of mind dependent on the action of a third person1 while in all probability it is hurtful to our friend himself1 because by consenting to divide the risks with the actual creditor we tend to lessen in the debtor's mind the full realization of his indebtedness1 and thus encourage him in shifty courses and unnerve his manly sense of responsibility4 ,the cases in which it is wise as well as kind to become bail for another are so rare that they may practically be ignored in this connection2 and when these rare occasions occur they may safely be left to the arbitrament of other principles of conduct which in the present instance are out of view4 ,here it is enough to emphasise what a miserable chain thoughtlessness in the matter of suretiship may forge for the thoughtless4 ,we may now pass to our second illustration1 the poverty and ruin which must eventually overtake the ,sluggard4 ,i went by the field of the slothful1 and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding2 and1 lo1 it was all grown over with thorns4 ,the face thereof was covered with nettles1 and the stone wall thereof was broken down4 ,then ,i beheld1 and considered well3 ,i saw1 and received instruction4#ih ,and there is the lazy owner of this neglected farm murmuring1 ,yet a little sleep1 a little slumber1 a little folding of the hands to sleep4 ,there seem to be in every community a certain number of people who can only be described as constitutionally incapable3 as children they are heavy and phlegmatic2 at school they are always playing truant1 and exerting themselves1 if at all1 to escape the irksome necessity of learning anything2 when they enter into life for themselves they have no notion of honest effort and steady persistency1 but directly their employment becomes distasteful they quit it2 and at length1 when they end their days in the workhouse1 or in those shameful haunts of sin and vice to which sloth so easily leads1 they have the melancholy reflection to take with them to the grave that they have proved themselves an encumbrance of the earth1 and can be welcomed in no conceivable world4 ,now the question must force itself upon our attention1 ,might not these incapables be rescued if they were taken young enough1 and taught by wholesome discipline and a wise education what will be the inevitable issue of their lethargic tendencies8 ,might not the farm of the sluggard be impressed on their very eyeballs as a perpetual and effective warning8 ,leaving this important question to social reformers1 we may note how beautifully this book employs the examples of insect life to teach and stimulate human beings4 ,the ants are a people not strong4 ,yet they provide their meat in summer4444 ,the locusts have no king4 ,yet go they forth all of them by bands4#ii ,go to the ant1 thou sluggard2 consider her ways1 and be wise3 which having no chief1 overseer1#ajj or ruler1 provideth her meat in the summer1 and gathereth her food in the harvest4#aja ,by this little touch the book of ,proverbs has turned the magnificent fields of modern scientific observation1 and all the astonishing revelations of the microscope1 into a school of moral and spiritual discipline for human life4 ,thus the ants swarm in the woods and the fields as if to rebuke the laziness and thriftlessness of man4 ,they work night and day2 they store their galleries with food2 they capture and nourish aphides1 which they use as a kind of domestic cattle4 ,the vast and symmetrical mounds1 which they rear as habitations and barns1 are1 relatively to the size of the builders1 three or four times larger than the pyramids4 ,by what mysterious instinct those long lines of labourers march and work in unison2 by what half-human impulses they form in serried hosts and engage in deadly battles prolonged through several days2 by what ludicrous freaks they are led to imitate men1 spending their lives in pampered luxury1 dependent upon slaves1 until at last in their helplessness they are mastered by their bondservants in revolt2 by what heavenly motive they are stirred to feed and nourish and nurse one another in sickness and trouble1--we need not here enquire1 for we are only told to go to the ant in order to learn her ways of ceaseless activity4 ,but in this brief precept we seem to receive a hint of the boundless instruction and warning to be derived from the humbler inhabitants of this earth which man claims as his own4 ,let us pass to the third illustration of the theme4 ,the surety is the victim of easygoing thoughtlessness1 the sluggard is the victim of laziness and incapacity2 but now there appears on the scene the thoroughly worthless character1 the man of ,belial1 and after his portrait is drawn in a few touches1 his sudden and hopeless ruin is announced in a way which is all the more striking because the connection between the sin and its punishment is left to be guessed rather than explained4#ajb ,the description of this person is wonderfully graphic and instructive1 and we must dwell for a moment on the details4 ,we see him1 not in repose1 but busy going from place to place1 and talking a great deal4 ,his lips are shaped continually to lie1--he walketh with a froward mouth4 ,there is no straightforwardness about him2 he is full of hint1 suggestion1 innuendo2 he gives you always the idea that he has an accomplice in the background2 he turns to you and winks in a knowing way2 he has a habit of shuffling with his feet1 as if some evil spirit forbade him to stand still2 you constantly catch him gesticulating2 he points with his thumb over his shoulder1 and nods significantly2 he is never better pleased than when he can give the impression of knowing a great deal more than he cares to say4 ,he delights to wrap himself in mystery--to smile blandly and then relapse into a look of inscrutability--to frown severely and then assume an air of gentle innocence4 ,he is in the habit of beckoning one into a corner1 and making a whispered communication as if he were your particular friend1 as if he had taken a fancy to you directly he saw you1 and was therefore eager to give you some information which nothing would induce him to divulge to anyone else2 if you are foolish enough to share his confidences1 he gives you very soon1 when others are standing by1 a cunning leer1 as if to intimate that you and he are old acquaintances1 and are in the secret1 which the rest do not know4#ajc ,the fact is that his heart is as deceitful as his lips2 he cannot be true on any terms4 ,if some simple and open course occurred to his mind he would shun it instinctively1 because it is in devising evil that he lives and moves and has his being4 ,his friendliest approaches fill an honest man with misgiving1 his words of affection or admiration send a cold shudder through one's frame4 ,his face is a mask2 when it looks fair you suspect villainy2 when it looks villainous1 and then only1 you recognize that it is true4 ,wherever he goes he makes mischief1 he causes divisions2 he is the ,iago of every play in which he takes a part1 the ,judas of every society of which he is a member4 ,he manages to sow suspicion in the mind of the least suspicious1 and to cast a slur on the character of the most innocent4 ,when he has created discord between friends he is delighted4 ,if he sees them disposed to a reconciliation1 he comes forward as a mediator and takes care to exasperate the differences1 and to make the breach irreparable4 ,like ,edmund in ,king ,lear1 he has a genius for setting men at variance1 and for so arranging his plots that each party thinks he hears with his own ears and sees with his own eyes the proof of the other's perfidy4 ,but1 unlike ,edmund1 he does the mischief1 not for any special good to himself1 but for the mere delight of being an agent of evil4 ,it is this kind of man that is the pest of commerce4 ,he introduces dishonest practices into every business that he touches4 ,he makes it a principle that in selling you are to impose on the customer1 avail yourself of his ignorance or prejudice or weakness1 and hide everything which might incline him to draw back2 while in buying you are to use any fraud or panic or misrepresentation which might induce the seller to lower the price4#ajd ,when he has been in a business for a little while the whole concern becomes tainted1 there is a slime over everything2 the very atmosphere is fetid4 ,it is this kind of man that is the bane of every social circle4 ,in his presence1 all simplicity and innocence1 all charity and forbearance and compassion1 seem to wither away4 ,if you are true and straightforward he manages to make you ridiculous2 under his evil spell you seem a simpleton4 ,all genial laughter he turns into sardonic smiles and sneers2 all kindly expressions he transforms into empty compliments which are not devoid of a hidden venom4 ,he is often very witty1 but his wit clings like an eating acid to everything that is good and pure2 his tongue will lodge a germ of putrescence in everything which it touches4 ,it is this kind of man that is the leaven of hypocrisy and malice in the ,christian ,church2 he intrigues and cabals4 ,he sets the people against the minister and stirs up the minister to suspect his people4 ,he undertakes religious work1 because it is in that capacity he can do most mischief4 ,he is never better pleased than when he can pose as the champion of orthodoxy1 because then he seems to be sheltered and approved by the banner which he is defending4 ,therefore shall his calamity come suddenly4#aje ,it is because the character is so incurably base1 so saturated with lies and insincerities1 that there can be no gradations or temperings in his punishment4 ,one who is less evil may be proved and tested with slight troubles1 if possibly he may be stirred to amendment4 ,but this utterly worthless person is quite unaffected by the smaller trials1 the tentative disciplines of life4 ,he cannot be chastised as a son2 he can only be broken as a vessel in which there is an intrinsic flaw2 or as a building1 which has got the plague in its very mortar and plaster4 ,we are told that in ,sierra ,leone the white ants will sometimes occupy a house1 and eat their way into all the woodwork1 until every article in the house is hollow1 so that it will collapse into dust directly it is touched4 ,it is so with this deceitful character1 so honeycombed1 and eaten through1 that though for years it may maintain its plausible appearance in the world1 few people even suspecting the extent of the inward decay1 on a sudden the end will come2 there will be one touch of the finger of ,god1 and the whole ill-compacted1 worm-devoured thing will crumble into matchwood3 ,he shall be broken1 and that without remedy4 ,but while we are thus watching this worthless soul overtaken with an inevitable calamity1 we are reminded that not only are our eyes upon him1 but the ,lord also sees him4 ,and to that calm and holy watcher of the poor sinful creature there are six things which appear specially hateful--seven which are an abomination of ,his soul4#ajf ,is there not a kind of comfort in the thought that the ,lord watches and knows the whole story of that miserable life1 not leaving it to us to condemn1 but taking upon ,himself the whole responsibility8 ,he knows whether there is a reason in nature for these bad hearts2 ,he knows too what power outside of nature can change and redeem them4 ,but at present we want only to mark and consider these seven things which are abominable to ,god--the seven prominent traits of the character which has just been depicted4 ,we seem to need some spiritual quickening1 that we may observe these hateful things not only with our own natural repugnance1 but with something of the holy hatred and the inward loathing which they produce in the ,divine mind4 #a4 ,haughty eyes4 ,there is a generation1 ,oh how lofty are their eyes6 ,and their eyelids are lifted up4#ajg ,and to that generation how many of us belong1 and what secret admiration do we cherish for it1 even when we can honestly disclaim any blood relationship6 ,that haughty air of the great noble2 that sense of intrinsic superiority2 that graciousness of manner which comes from a feeling that no comparison can possibly be instituted between the great man and his inferiors2 that way of surveying the whole earth as if it were one's private estate2 or that supreme satisfaction with one's private estate as if it were the whole earth6 ,this lofty pride1 when its teeth are drawn so that it cannot materially hurt the rest of mankind1 is a subject of mirth to us2 but to the ,lord it is not1 it is hateful and abominable2 it ranks with the gross vices and the worst sins2 it is the chief crime of ,satan4 #b4 ,a lying tongue1 though it is but for a moment4#ajh ,it is the sure sign of ,god's intense hatred against lies that they recoil on the head of the liar1 and are the harbingers of certain destruction4 ,we dislike lies because of their social inconvenience1 and where some social convenience is served by them we connive at them and approve4 ,but ,god hates the lying tongue1 whatever apparent advantage comes from it4 ,if we lie for personal gain ,he hates it4 ,if we lie from mere weakness1 ,he hates it4 ,if we lie in the name of religion1 and in the fashion of the ,jesuit1 for the welfare of men and the salvation of souls1 ,he hates it none the less4 ,the abomination does not consist in the motive of the lie1 but in the lie itself4 #c4 ,hands that shed innocent blood4 ,so hateful are they to ,him that ,he could not let ,david ,his chosen servant build ,him a house because this charge could be laid against the great king4 ,the soldier in the battle-field hewing down the man who is innocent1 and the man who in carelessness or greed is wearing the poor1 who are dependent on him1 down to death1 and the man who in a passion rises up and murders his fellow1--these are very hateful to the ,lord4 ,there at the beginning of the world's history1 in the blood of righteous ,abel crying to the ,lord1 and in the mark set on the guilty brow of ,cain1 the heart of ,god was clearly and finally shown4 ,he has not changed4 ,he does not shed innocent blood ,himself2 ,he cannot away with them that shed it4 #d4 ,hateful too to ,him is the devising heart1 even where courage or opportunity fails of realizing the device4 ,there are so many more murderers in the world than we see1 so many cruel and wicked deeds restrained by the police or by a dominant public sentiment1 which yet lie deep in the wicked imaginations of our hearts1 and are abominable to ,god1 that we may be thankful if we do not see as ,he sees1 and may wonder at the forbearance of ,his compassion4 #e4 ,feet that be swift in running to mischief4 ,feet listless in the ways of brotherly service or holy worship1 but swift1 twinkling with eager haste1 when any mischief is toward1 are marked by ,god--and hated4 #f4 ,and a false witness is abominable to ,him1 the poisoner of all social life1 the destroyer of all justice between man and man4 ,again and again in this book is censure passed upon this unpardonable crime4#aji #g4 ,finally1 as the blessing of ,heaven descends on the peacemaker1 so the hatred of ,god assails the man who sows discord among brethren4 ,such is the character that ,god abominates1 the character which binds itself with cords of penalty and falls into irretrievable ruin4 ,and then1 after this disquisition on some of the vices which destroy the individual life and disturb society1 our author turns again to that snaring vice which is so much the more destructive because it comes under the guise1 not of hate1 but of love4 ,those other vices after all bear their evil on their faces1 but this is veiled and enchanted with a thousand plausible sophistries2 it pleads the instincts of nature1 the fascinations of beauty1 the faults of the present social state1 and even advances the august precepts of science4 ,surely in a way where such a danger lurks we need a commandment which will shine as a lamp1 a law which will be itself a light 7ver4 #bc74 ,,footnotes3 #ie ,see ,prov4 xvii4 #ah1 xx4 #af1 repeated in xxvii4 #ac1 and especially xi4 #ae4 #if ,prov4 xxii4 #bf1 #bg4 #ig ,eccles4 xxix4 #ad1 #af1 #ag1 #ah1 #ai4 #ih ,prov4 xxiv4 #cj-cd2 see for a fuller treatment of the subject ,lecture ,,xx4 #ii ,prov4 xxx4 #be-bg4 #ajj ,it is the word used in ,exod4 v4 #f of those who directed the tasks of the ,israelites in ,egypt4 #aja ,prov4 vi4 #f-h4 #ajb ,prov4 vi4 #ab-ae4 #ajc ,cf4 the proverb xvi4 #cj--;,he that shutteth his eyes1 it is to devise froward things3 he that compresseth his lips bringeth evil to pass4 #ajd ,cf4 ,prov4 xx4 #ad3 ,it is naught1 it is naught1 saith the buyer3 but when he is gone his way1 then he boasteth4 #aje ,it is probably assumed that warnings and corrections have been given him in vain--cf4 ,prov4 xxix4 #a3 ,he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be broken1 and that without remedy4 #ajf ,prov4 vi4 #af-ai4 #ajg ,prov4 xxx4 #ac4 ,see ,lecture ,,xiii4 for the teaching of the ,proverbs on ,pride4 #ajh ,prov4 xii4 #ai4 #aji ,see ,prov4 xii4 #ag2 xiv4 #e1 #be2 xix4 #e1 #i4 ,a crime1 it may be remembered1 which would be much more common and much more fatal in a primitive state of society1 where on the one hand legal procedure was less cautious and less searching1 and on the other hand the inward sanctions of truth which ,christianity has brought home to the modern conscience were but feebly perceived4 ,,vii4 ,,realism ,,in ,,moral ,,teaching4 ,i looked forth through my lattice2 and ,i beheld4--,,prov4 vii4 #f4 ,the three chapters which close the introduction of our book 7vii4-ix47 present a lively and picturesque contrast between ,folly and ,wisdom---,folly more especially in the form of vice2 ,wisdom more generally in her highest and most universal intention4 ,folly is throughout concrete1 an actual woman1 pourtrayed with such correctness of detail that she is felt as a personal force4 ,wisdom1 on the other hand1 is only personified2 she is an abstract conception2 she speaks with human lips in order to carry out the parallel1 but she is not a human being1 known to the writer4 ,as we shall see in the next ,lecture1 this high ,wisdom never took a human shape until the ,incarnation of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 ,folly1 unhappily1 had become incarnate in myriads of instances2 scarcely any city or place where men congregate was1 or is1 without its melancholy example4 ,it follows from this difference between the two that the picture of ,folly is a piece of vigorous realism1 while the account of ,wisdom is a piece of delicate idealism4 ,folly is historical1 ,wisdom is prophetic4 ,in this chapter we are concerned with facts which the author witnessed from the window of his house looking forth through the lattice4#aaj ,in the next chapter we shall touch on ideas which he had not seen1 and could not have seen unless it were in lofty vision looking out through the lattice of the soul4 ,in the present chapter we have an opportunity of noticing the immense value and power of pictorial delineation and concrete images in moral teaching2 in the next we shall experience the peculiar fascination and inspiration of beautiful abstract conceptions1 of disembodied ideals which1 so far as we know at the time1 are not capable of actual realization4 ,it is important to remember this difference in order to understand why ,wisdom1 the shadowy contrast to that ,mistress ,folly who was only too concrete and familiar1 shaped itself to the writer's mind as a fair and stately woman1 a queenly hostess inviting simple ones to her feast2 though1 as ,christians have learnt1 the historical embodiment of ,wisdom was a man1 the ,word of ,god1 who of ,god was made unto us wisdom4 ,now before we take our stand at the window and look through the lattice into the street1 we must notice the exhortations to the young man to make wisdom and understanding his intimate friends1 with which the chapter begins4 ,the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye1 which is so sensitive1 so tender1 and at the same time so surpassingly important1 that the lid has to shield it by a quick instinctive movement outrunning thought1 and the hand has to be ready at all times to come to its succour4 ,the commandments are to be written on the fingers1 like engraved rings1 which would serve as instant reminders in unwary moments2 the very instruments through which the evil would be done are to be claimed and sealed and inscribed by the righteousness which can preserve from evil1 while in the secret tablets of the heart the holy truths are to be written2 so that if1 in the business of life1 the writing on the fingers may get blurred or effaced1 the principles of righteousness may yet be kept like priceless archives stored in the inviolable chambers of the inner man4 ,wisdom is to be treated as a sister1#aaa not as if there were a natural kinship1 but on the ground of the beautiful influence which a true sister1 a pure woman soul1 exercises over a young man's life4 ,it is given to a sister again and again1 by unfailing sympathy and by sweet comprehending ways1 not teasing nor lecturing1 but always believing and hoping and loving1 to weave a magical spell of goodness and truth around a brother who is exposed to dangerous temptations2 she will maintain for him a saving intercourse with his true self2 when the fires of more ardent affections are burning low1 or extinguished in doubt or disgust1 she will be with him like a calm impersonal presence1 unobtrusive1 unforgotten1 the more potent because she makes no show of power4 ,such a lovely fraternal relation is to be maintained with ,wisdom1 constant as a tie of blood1 firm as a companionship from earliest infancy1 yet exalted and enthusiastic in its way1 and promising a lifelong attraction and authority4 ,this blessed kinship with ,understanding should save the young man from such a fate as we are now to contemplate4 ,it is twilight1 not yet absolutely dark1 but the shuddering horror of the scene seems to quench the doubtful glimmer of evening and to plunge the observer suddenly into midnight4#aab ,there is a young man coming round the corner of the street4 ,his is no manly walk1 but an idle1 effeminate saunter--a detail which is not brought out in the ,english ,version4#aac ,he is a dandy and sadly empty-headed4 ,now all young men1 good and bad alike1 pass through a period of dandyism1 and it has its uses2 but the better the stuff of which the man is made1 the more quickly he gets over the crisis1 and returns to his senses4 ,this young man is void of understanding2 his dandyism will be chronic4 ,his is a feeble will and a prurient mind2 but his special weakness consists in this1 that he thinks he can always resist temptation1 and therefore never hesitates to thrust himself in its way4 ,it is as if one were to pride himself on being able to hang on with his fingers to the rim of a well3 he is always hanging there1 and a touch will send him in4 ,one who is in his own opinion weaker would give the dangerous place a wide berth1 and nothing but sheer force would bring him to the edge4 ,this young dandy has nothing to say for himself4 ,a tempter need not be at the trouble to bring any sound arguments1 or to make the worse appear the better reason2 to this poor weakling the worse the reason is the better it will appear4 ,as you see him lolling down the path with his leering look and his infinite self-satisfaction--good-natured1 but without any other goodness2 not with bad intentions1 but with everything else bad--you can foresee that he will be blown over as easily as a pleasure skiff on a stormy ocean2 if you have a compassionate heart you mourn over him at once1 for you see the inevitable4 ,the woman has come out to meet him--like a bird-catcher who has been watching for the unwary bird4 ,now he should escape at once1 for her very attire warns him of her intentions4 ,but this is just his weakness2 he delights to place himself in such a position2 he would say that it is the proof of his manliness that he can resist4 ,she approaches him with a smirk and a smile1 with an open countenance but a closed heart4 ,she utters a sound1 moving and pathetic like the murmur of harp-strings2#aad it comes from that inward tumult of passion in the woman's nature which always flutters the heart of a weak youth4#aae ,she is a wild undisciplined creature2 she always hankers after the forbidden2 the quiet home ways are insufferable to her2 out in the streets1 with their excitement1 their variety1 their suggestions1 their possibilities1 she forgets1 if she does not quiet1 her restlessness4 ,the poor woman-nature which1 rightly taught and trained1 might make the beauty and sweetness of a home1 capable of sanctified affections and of self-sacrificing devotion1 is here entirely perverted4 ,the passion is poisoned and now poisonous4 ,the energy is diseased4 ,the charms are all spurious4 ,she goes abroad in the blackness of night because in even a faint light her hideousness would appear2 under the paint and the finery she is a hag2 her eyes are lustreless but for the temporary fire of her corruptions2 behind that voice which croons and ripples there is a subdued moan of despair--the jarring of harp-strings which snap and quiver and shudder and are silent for ever4 ,the wise man looks at her with compassionate loathing1 ,god with pity which yearns to save2 but this foolish youth is moved by her as only a fool could be moved4 ,his weak understanding is immediately overcome by her flatteries2 his polluted heart does not perceive the poison of her heartless endearments4 ,she throws her arms round him and kisses him1 and he makes no question that it is a tribute to the personal attractions which he has himself often admired in his mirror4 ,she would have him believe that it was he whom she had come out specially to seek1 though it would have been just the same whoever had caught her eye2 and he1 deceived by his own vanity1 at once believes her4 ,she has a great deal to say2 she does not rely on one inducement1 for she does not know with whom she has to do2 she pours out therefore all her allurements in succession without stopping to take breath4 ,first1 she holds out the prospect of a good meal4 ,she has abundant meat in the house1 which comes from the sacrifice she has just been offering1 and it must be eaten by the next day1 according to the commandment of the ,law4#aaf ,or if he is not one to be attracted merely by food1 she has appeals to his sthetic side2 her furniture is rich and artistic1 and her chamber is perfumed with sweet spices4 ,she perceives perhaps by now what a weak1 faint-hearted creature1 enervated by vice1 unmanly and nervous1 she has to do with1 and she hastens to assure him that his precious skin will be safe4 ,her goodman is not at home1 and his absence will be prolonged2 he took money with him for a long journey1 and she knows the date of his return4 ,the foolish youth need not fear1 therefore1 that jealousy which is the rage of a man2 he will not have to offer gifts and ransom to the implacable husband1 because his deed will never be known4 ,how hollow it all sounds1 and how suspicious2 surely one who had a grain of understanding would answer with manly scorn and with kindling indignation4 ,but our poor young fool1 who was so confident of himself1 yields without a struggle2 with her mere talk1 playing upon his vanity1 she bends him as if he were a water-weed in a stream--her appeals to his self-admiration drive him forth as easily as the goads urge an ox to the slaughter-house4 ,and now you may watch him going after her to destruction6 ,is there not a pathos in the sight of an ox going to the slaughter8 ,the poor dumb creature is lured by the offer of food or driven by the lash of the driver4 ,it enters the slaughter-house as if it were a stall for rest and refreshment2 it has no idea that it is for its life4 ,the butcher knows2 the bystanders understand the signs2 but it is perfectly insensible1 taking a transitory pleasure in the unwonted attentions which are really the portents of death4 ,it is not endeared to us by any special interest or affection2 the dull1 stupid life has never come into any close connection with ours4 ,it has never been to us like a favourite dog1 or a pet bird that has cheered our solitary hours4 ,it gave us no response when we spoke to it or stroked its sleek hide4 ,it was merely an animal4 ,but yet it moves our pity at this supreme moment of its life2 we do not like to think of the heavy blow which will soon lay the great slow-pacing form prostrate and still in death4 ,here is an ox going to the slaughter1--but it is a fellow-man1 a young man1 not meant for ignominious death1 capable of a good and noble life4 ,the poor degraded woman who lures him to his ruin has no such motive of serviceableness as the butcher has4 ,by a malign influence she attracts him1 an influence even more fatal to herself than to him4 ,and he appears quite insensible1--occupied entirely with reflections on his glossy skin and goodly form2 not suspecting that bystanders have any other sentiment than admiration of his attractions and approval of his manliness1 he goes quietly1 unresistingly1 lured rather than driven1 to the slaughter-house4 ,the effect of comparison with dumb animals is heightened by throwing in a more direct comparison with other human beings4 ,transposing the words1 with ,delitzsch1 as is evidently necessary in order to preserve the parallelism of the similitude1 we find this little touch3 ,he goeth after her straightway1 as a fool to the correction of the fetters1--as if the ,teacher would remind us that the fate of the young man1 tragic as it is1 is yet quite devoid of the noble aspects of tragedy4 ,this clause is a kind of afterthought1 a modification4 ,did we say that he is like the ox going to the slaughter8--nay1 there is a certain dignity in that image1 for the ox is innocent of its own doom1 and by its death many will benefit2 with our pity for it we cannot but mingle a certain gratitude1 and we find no room for censure2 but this entrapped weakling is after all only a fool1 of no service or interest to any one1 without any of the dignity of our good domestic cattle2 in his corrupt and witless heart is no innocence which should make us mourn4 ,and the punishment he goes to1 though it is ruin1 is so mean and degrading that it awakes the jeers and scorn of the beholders4 ,as if he were in the village stocks1 he will be exposed to eyes which laugh while they despise him4 ,those who are impure like himself will leer at him2 those who are pure will avert their glance with an ill-disguised contempt4 ,there1 then1 goes the ox to the slaughter2 nay1 the mere empty-headed fool to the punishment of the fetters1 which will keep him out of further mischief1 and chain him down to the dumb lifeless creation to which he seems to belong4 ,but the scorn changes rapidly to pity4 ,where a fellow-creature is concerned we may not feel contempt beyond that point at which it serves as a rebuke1 and a stimulus to better things4 ,when we are disposed to turn away with a scornful smile1 we become aware of the suffering which the victim of his own sins will endure4 ,it will be like an arrow striking through the liver4 ,only a moment1 and he will be seized with the sharp pain which follows on indulgence4 ,oh the nausea and the loathing1 when the morning breaks and he sees in all their naked repulsiveness the things which he allowed to fascinate him yester-eve6 ,what a bitter taste is in his mouth2 what a ghastly and livid hue is on the cheek which he imagined fair6 ,he is pierced2 to miserable physical sufferings is joined a sense of unspeakable degradation1 a wretched depression of spirits1 a wish to die which is balanced in horrid equilibrium by a fear of death4 ,and now he will arise and flee out of this loathly house1 which seems to be strewn with dead men's bones and haunted by the moaning spirits of the mighty host which have here gone down into ,sheol4 ,but what is this8 ,he cannot flee4 ,he is held like a bird in the snare1 which beats its wings and tries to fly in vain2 the soft yielding net will rise and fall with its efforts1 but will not suffer it to escape4 ,he cannot flee1 for if he should escape those fatal doors1 before to-morrow's sun sets he will be seized with an overmastering passion1 a craving which is like the gnawing of a vulture at the liver2 by an impulse which he cannot resist he will be drawn back to that very corner2 there will not be again any raptures1 real or imagined1 only racking and tormenting desires2 there will be no fascination of sight or scent or taste2 all will appear as it is--revolting2 the perfumes will all be rank and sickly1 the meat will all be blighted and fly-blown2 but none the less he must back2 there1 poor1 miserable1 quivering bird1 he must render himself1 and must take his fill of--loves8 no1 of maudlin rapture and burning disgust2 solace himself8 no1 but excite a desire which grows with every satisfaction1 which slowly and surely1 like that loathsome monster of the seas1 slides its clinging suckers around him1 and holds him in an embrace more and more deadly until he finally succumbs4 ,then he perceives that the fatal step that he took was for his life1 that is1 his life was at stake4 ,when he entered into the trap1 the die was cast2 hope was abandoned as he entered there4 ,the house which appeared so attractive was a mere covered way to hell4 ,the chambers which promised such imagined delights were on an incline which sloped down to death4 ,look at him1 during that brief passage from his foolish heedlessness to his irretrievable ruin1 a ,rake's ,progress presented in simple and vivid pictures1 which are so terrible because they are so absolutely true4 ,after gazing for a few minutes upon the story1 do we not feel its power8 ,are there not many who are deaf to all exhortations1 who will never attend to the words of ,wisdom's mouth1 who have a consummate art in stopping their ears to all the nobler appeals of life1 who yet will be arrested by this clear presentation of a fact1 by the teacher's determination not to blink or underrate any of the attractions and seductions1 and by his equal determination not to disguise or diminish any of the frightful results8 ,we may cherish the sweetness and the purity which reticence will often preserve1 but when the sweetness and the purity are lost1 reticence will not bring them back1 and duty seems to require that we should lay aside our fastidiousness and speak out boldly in order to save the soul of our brother4 ,but after dwelling on such a picture as this there is a thought which naturally occurs to us2 in our hearts a yearning awakes which the book of ,proverbs is not capable of meeting4 ,warnings so terrible1 early instilled into the minds of our young men1 may by ,god's grace be effectual in saving them from the decline into those evil ways1 and from going astray in the paths of sin4 ,such warnings ought to be given1 although they are painful and difficult to give4 ,but when we have gone wrong through lack of instruction1 when a guilty silence has prevented our teachers from cautioning us1 while the corrupt habits of society have drawn us insensibly into sin1 and a thousand glozening excuses have veiled from our eyes the danger until it is too late1 is there nothing left for us but to sink deeper and deeper into the slough1 and to issue from it only to emerge in the chambers of death8 ,to this question ,jesus gives the answer4 ,he alone can give it4 ,even that personified ,wisdom whose lofty and philosophical utterances we shall hear in the next chapter1 is not enough4 ,no advice1 no counsel1 no purity1 no sanctity of example can avail4 ,it is useless to upbraid a man with his sins when he is bound hand and foot with them and cannot escape4 ,it is a mockery to point out1 what is only too obvious1 that without holiness no man can see ,god1 at a moment when the miserable victim of sin can see nothing clearly except the fact that he is without holiness4 ,the pure in heart shall see ,god is an announcement of exquisite beauty1 it has a music which is like the music of the spheres1 a music at which the doors of heaven seem to swing open2 but it is merely a sentence of doom to those who are not pure in heart4 ,jesus meets the corrupt and ruined nature with the assurance that ,he has come to seek and to save that which was lost4 ,and lest a mere assertion should prove ineffectual to the materialised and fallen spirit1 ,jesus came and presented in the realism of the ,cross a picture of ,redemption which could strike hearts that are too gross to feel and too deaf to hear4 ,it might be possible to work out ideally the redemption of man in the unseen and spiritual world4 ,but actually1 for men whose very sin makes them unspiritual1 there seems to be no way of salvation which does not approach them in a tangible form4 ,the horrible corruption and ruin of our physical nature1 which is the work of sin1 could be met only by the ,incarnation1 which should work out a redemption through the flesh4 ,accordingly1 here is a wonder which none can explain1 but which none can gainsay4 ,when the victim of fleshly sin1 suffering from the arrow which has pierced his liver1 handed over as it seems to despair1 is led to gaze upon the ,crucified ,christ1 and to understand the meaning of ,his bearing our sins in ,his own body on the tree1 he is touched1 he is led to repentance1 he is created anew1 his flesh comes again to him as a little child1 he can offer up to ,god the sacrifice of a contrite heart1 and he is cleansed4 ,this is a fact which has been verified again and again by experience4 ,and they who have marked the power of the ,cross can never sufficiently admire the wisdom and the love of ,god1 who works by ways so entirely unlike our ways1 and has resources at ,his command which surpass our conception and baffle our explanation4 ,if there is a man literally broken down and diseased with sin1 enfeebled in will and purpose1 tormented by his evil appetite so that he seems like one possessed1 the wisest counsels may be without any effect2 paint in the most vivid hues the horrible consequences of his sin1 but he will remain unmoved2 apply the coercion of a prison and all the punishments which are at the disposal of an earthly judge1 and he will return to his vicious life with a gusto increased by his recuperated physical strength2 present to him the most touching appeals of wife and children and friends1 and while he sheds sentimental tears he will continue to run the downward way4 ,but let him be arrested by the spectacle of ,christ crucified for him1 let the moving thought of that priceless love and untold suffering stir in his heart1 let his eyes be lifted never so faintly to those eyes of ,divine compassion1--and though he seemed to have entered the very precincts of the grave1 though the heart within him seemed to have died and the conscience seemed to be seared with a hot iron1 you will observe at once the signs of returning animation2 a cry will go up from the lips1 a sob will convulse the frame1 a light of passionate hope will come into the eyes4 ,christ has touched him4 ,christ is merciful4 ,christ is powerful4 ,christ will save4 ,ah1 if ,i speak to one who is bound with the cords of his sin1 helplessly fettered and manacled1 dead as it were in trespasses1 ,i know there is no other name to mention to you1 no other hope to hold out to you4 ,though ,i knew all science1 ,i could not effectually help you2 though ,i could command all the springs of human feeling1 ,i could not stir you from your apathy1 or satisfy the first cries of your awaking conscience4 ,but it is permitted to me to preach unto you--not abstract ,wisdom1 but--,jesus1 who received that name because ,he should save ,his people from their sins4 ,,footnotes3 #aaj ,prov4 vii4 #f4 #aaa ,prov4 vii4 #d4 #aab ,prov4 vii4 #i4 #aac ,prov4 vii4 #h4 ,the term describes a special kind of motion1 e4g41 the slow pacing of the oxen that bare the ark 7#b ,sam4 vi4 #ae71 or the imagined efforts of idols to move 7,jer4 x4 #e72 it is therefore unfortunate to render it by the generic word go4 ,the affected dignity and sauntering insouciance of a dandy are immediately suggested by it1 and the shade of meaning is fairly well preserved in the ,english saunter4 #aad ,this is the meaning of the word translated 'clamorous4' #aae ,so says the ,greek version of ver4 #aj3 4 #aaf ,see ,lev4 vii4 #af4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,first-,,born ,,of ,,the ,,creator4 ,doth not ,wisdom cry8--,,prov4 viii4 #a4 ,in the last chapter a dark and revolting picture of ,vice was drawn4 ,this chapter contains a lovely and living picture of ,wisdom4 ,in this contrast1 as we have already seen1 ,vice can be presented as a vicious woman1 because it is unhappily only too easy to find such an incarnation in actual experience2 ,wisdom1 on the other hand1 cannot be presented as an actual person1 but only as a personification1 because there was1 as yet1 no ,incarnation of ,wisdom2 far from it1 ,solomon1 the wisest of men1 the framer of many wise proverbs1 had been in practical conduct an incarnation of folly rather than of wisdom1 had himself become a proverb for a wise and understanding heart in combination with a dark and vicious life4 ,yet how could the teacher fail to feel that some day there must be an ,incarnate ,wisdom1 a contrast to the ,incarnate ,vice1 a conqueror and destroyer of it8 ,in describing ,wisdom personified1 and in following out her sweet and high-souled utterance1 the teacher unconsciously to himself becomes a prophet1 and presents1 as we shall see1 a faint and wavering image of ,him who of ,god was to be made unto men ,wisdom1 of ,him who was actually to live a concrete human life embodying the ,divine ,wisdom as completely as many poor stained human lives have embodied the undivine folly of vice4 ,the description1 then1 is an adumbration of something as yet not seen or fully understood2 we must be careful not to spoil its meaning by representing it as more1 and by attempting to press the details in explanation of the being and the work of ,christ4 ,we shall do wisely to look at the whole picture as it formed itself before the eye of the writer1 and to abstain from introducing into it colours or shades of our own4 ,our first task must be to follow the movement of the chapter as carefully as possible4 ,wisdom1 unlike the vicious woman who lurks in the twilight at the corner of the street which contains her lair1 stands in the open places2 she makes herself as manifest as may be by occupying some elevated position1 from which her ringing voice may be heard down the streets and up the cross-ways1 and may attract the attention of those who are entering the city gates or the doors of the houses4 ,as her voice is strong and clear1 so her words are full and rounded2 there is no whispering1 no muttering1 no dark hint1 no subtle incitement to secret pleasures2 her tone is breezy and stirring as the dawn2 there is something about it which makes one involuntarily think of the open air1 and the wide sky1 and the great works of ,god4#aag ,there is the beauty of goodness in all that she says2 there is the charming directness and openness of truth2 she abhors tortuous and obscure ways2 and if some of her sayings seem paradoxes or enigmas1 a little difficult to understand1 that is the fault of the hearer2 to a tortuous mind straight things appear crooked2 to the ignorant and uninstructed mind the eternal laws of ,god appear foolishness2 but all that she says is plain to one who understands1 and right to those who find knowledge4#aah ,she walks always in a certain and undeviating course--it is the way of righteousness and judgment--and only those who tread the same path can expect to perceive the meaning of what she says1 or to appreciate the soundness of all her counsels4#aai ,and now she proclaims the grounds on which she demands the attention of men1 in a noble appeal1 which rises to a passionate eloquence and deepens in spiritual significance as it advances4 ,roughly speaking1 this appeal seems to fall into two parts3 from ver4 #aj to ver4 #ba the obvious advantages of obeying her voice are declared1 but at ver4 #bb the discourse reaches a higher level1 and she claims obedience because of her essential nature and her eternal place in the universe of created things4 ,in the first part ,wisdom solemnly states her own value1 as compared with the valuables which men usually covet--silver1 and gold1 and precious stones4 ,that she is of more account than these1 appears from the fact that they are but parts of her gifts4 ,in her train come riches2 but they differ from ordinary riches in being durable2 her faithful followers obtain substantial wealth1 and their treasuries insensibly fill4#abj ,to riches she adds honour1 a crown which worldly riches seldom bring1 and1 what is better still1 the honour which she confers is associated with righteousness1 while the spurious honour which is commonly rendered to riches1 being conferred without any moral implication1 is devoid of any moral appreciation4#aba ,but after all1 she herself is her own best reward2 the prosperity which accompanies her seems trivial compared with the desirableness of her own person4 ,her queenly dwelling is prudence1 and at her touch all the charmed regions of knowledge and discovery fly open2 they who dwell with her and are admitted to share her secrets find the fruit and the increase of the intellectual life incomparably better than fine gold or choice silver4 ,and what gives to her endowments their peculiar completeness is that she requires a moral culture to go hand in hand with mental development2 and leading her disciples to hate evil1 and to avoid the arrogance and the pride of the intellect1 she rescues knowledge from becoming a mere barren accumulation of facts1 and keeps it always in contact with the humanities and with life4 ,indeed1 she finds it one great part of her mighty task to instruct the rulers of men1 and to fit them for the fulfilment of their high functions4 ,her queenly prerogative she shares with all her faithful followers4 ,since ,wisdom is the actual arbiter of human life1 the wise man is1 as the ,stoics would have said1 a king2 nor can any king be recognized or tolerated who is not wise4#abb ,and all these advantages of wealth and honour1 of knowledge1 and power1 and righteousness1 are put within the reach of every one4 ,wisdom is no churl in loving2 she loves all who love her4 ,she does not seek to withdraw herself from men2 rather she chooses the places and the ways in which she can best attract them4 ,queenly as she is1 she condescends to woo them4 ,her invitations are general1 even universal4 ,and therefore if any do not find her1 it is because they do not seek her2 if any do not share in her rich gifts and graces1 it is because they will not take the trouble to claim them4#abc ,but now we pass on to the second ground of appeal4 ,wisdom unveils herself1 discloses her origin1 shows her heart1 stands for a moment on her high celestial throne1 that she may make her claims upon the sons of men more irresistible4 ,she was the first creation of ,god4#abd ,before the earth issued out of nothingness she was there4 ,in joyous activity1 daily full of delight1 she was beside ,god1 as an architect1 in the forming of the world4 ,she saw the great earth shaped and clothed for the first time in the mantle of its floods1 and made musical with the sound of its fountains4 ,she saw the mountains and the hills built up from their foundations4 ,she saw the formation of the dry land1 and of the atoms of dust which go to make the ground4#abe ,she saw the sky spread out as a firm vault to cover the earth2 and she saw ,god when 444 in ,his hand ,he took the golden compasses1 prepared ,in ,god's eternal store1 to circumscribe ,this universe and all created things4#abf ,she saw the mighty tides of the ocean restricted to their appointed cisterns1 and the firm outlines of the land fixed as their impassable barriers4#abg ,and this very ,wisdom1 who thus presided over the formation of land1 and sea1 and sky1 is she who still sports with ,god's fruitful earth--yes1 sports1 for the great characteristic of ,wisdom is her exultant cheerfulness1 and it must by no means be supposed that the foolish and the wicked have all the gaiety and mirth as their own4#abh ,this ,wisdom is she too who finds her peculiar delight with the sons of men4 ,is it not obvious1 then1 that men1 who are her sons1 ought to give ear to her counsels8 ,what could establish a stronger claim for attention than this ancient origin1 this honourable part in laying the very foundations of the earth1 and this special interest in human life from the beginning8 ,raised to this high level1 where we command so wide a prospect1 are we not forced to see that it is our duty1 our interest1 our joy1 to come as humble suitors to the gates of ,wisdom1 and there to watch1 and wait1 and seek until we may obtain admission8 ,must we not search after her1 when in finding her we find life and obtain favour of the ,lord8 ,can we not perceive that to miss her is to miss life1 to wrong our own souls--to hate her is to love death8 ,evidently her eagerness to win us is entirely disinterested2 though she delights in us1 she could easily dispense with us2 on the other hand1 though we do not delight in her1 though we constantly turn a deaf ear to her1 and refuse to walk in her ways1 she is indispensable to us4 ,such a passage as this gives rise to many reflections1 and the longer we meditate upon it the more rich and suggestive it appears4 ,let us try to follow out some of the thoughts which readily present themselves1 and especially such as are suggested by the verses which may be described as the poem of creation4 ,first of all1 here is the noble idea which overturns at a touch all mythological speculations about the origin of things--an idea which is in deep harmony with all the best knowledge of our own time--that there is nothing fortuitous in the creation of the world2 the ,creator is not a blind ,force1 but an ,intelligent ,being whose first creation is wisdom4 ,he is the origin of a ,law by which ,he means to bind ,himself2 arbitrariness finds no place in ,his counsels2 accident has no part in ,his works2 in ,wisdom hath ,he formed them all4 ,in all heathen conceptions of creation caprice is supreme1 law has no place1 blind force works in this way or that1 either by the compulsion of a ,necessity which is stronger than the gods1 or by freaks and whims of the gods which would be contemptible even in men4 ,but here is the clear recognition of the principle that ,god's ,law is a law also to ,himself1 and that ,his law is wisdom4 ,he creates the world as an outcome of ,his own wise and holy design1 so that nothing walks with aimless feet4 ,it is on this theological conception that the possibility of science depends4 ,until the universe is recognized as an ordered and intelligible system the ordered and intelligent study of it cannot begin4 ,as long as the arbitrary and fortuitous are supposed to hold sway inquiry is paralyzed at its starting-point4 ,it may1 however1 be suggested that the doctrine of ,evolution1 which scientific men are almost unanimous in accepting1 is inconsistent with this idea of ,creation4 ,by this doctrine our attention is directed to the apparently disordered collision of forces1 and the struggle for existence out of which the order and progress of life are educed1 and it is hastily assumed that a ,wise ,intelligence would not work in this way1 but would exhibit more economy of resources1 more simplicity and directness of method1 and more inevitableness of result4 ,but may we not say that the apparent fortuitousness with which the results are achieved is the clearest evidence of the wise purpose which orders and directs the process8 for about the results there can be no question2 order1 beauty1 fitness everywhere prevail2 life emerges from the inorganic1 thought from life1 morality and religion from thought4 ,the more our attention is called to the apparently accidental steps by which these results are reached1 the more persuaded must we become that a great and a wise law was at work1 that by the side of the ,creator1 as a master workman1 was ,wisdom from the beginning4 ,such a passage as this1 then1 prepares the way for all science1 and furnishes the true conceptions without which science would be sterile4 ,it takes us at a step out of a pagan into a truly religious mode of thinking2 it leads us out of the misty regions of superstition to the luminous threshold of the ,house of ,knowledge4 ,it may be said with truth that many scientific facts which are known to us were not known to the writer2 and this may raise a prejudice against our book in those minds which can tolerate no thought except that of the present generation1 and appreciate no knowledge which is not1 as it were1 brought up to date2 but the fruitful conception is here1 here is the right way of regarding the universe1 here the preparation of all science4 ,and now to advance to another idea which is implied in the passage1 the idea that in the very conception of the universe human life was contemplated1 and regarded with a peculiar delight by the ,wisdom of ,god4 ,the place which ,man occupies in creation has been variously estimated in different religious systems and by different religious thinkers4 ,sometimes he has been regarded as the centre of all things1 the creature for whom all things exist4 ,then a reaction has set in1 and he has been treated as a very insignificant and possibly transient phenomenon in the order of things4 ,it is characteristic of the ,bible that it presents a balanced view of this question1 avoiding extremes in both directions4 ,on the one hand1 it very clearly recognizes that man is a part of the creation1 that he belongs to it because he springs out of it1 and rules over it only in so far as he conforms to it2 on the other hand1 it clearly insists on that relation between man and his ,creator which is hinted at here4 ,man is always implicitly connected with ,god by some half-divine mediator4 ,the ,wisdom of ,god watches with an unmoved heart the growth of the physical world1 but into her contemplation of mankind there enters a peculiar delight4 ,there is that in man which can listen to her appeals1 can listen and respond4 ,he is capable of rising to the point of view from which she looks out upon the world1 and can even see himself in the light in which she sees him4 ,in a word1 man1 with all his insignificance1 has a sublime possibility in him1 the possibility of becoming like ,god2 in this he stands quite alone among created things2 it is this which gives him his pre-eminence4 ,thus our passage1 while it does not for a moment imply that the material universe was made for the sake of man1 or that man in himself can claim a superiority over the other creatures of the earth--and so far takes a view which is very popular with scientific men--yet parts company with the philosophy of materialism in claiming for man a place altogether unique1 because he has within him the possibility of being linked to ,god by means of the ,wisdom of ,god4 ,and now we may notice another implication of the passage4 ,while ,wisdom celebrates her high prerogative as the first-born of the ,creator and the instrument of the creation1 and urges upon men as parts of the creation the observance of the ,moral ,law1 she is implicitly teaching the great truth which men have been so slow to grasp1 that the law of practical righteousness is of a piece with the very laws of creation4 ,to put it in another form1 the rules of right conduct are really the rules of the universe applied to human life4 ,laws of nature1 as they are called1 and laws of morality have their origin in one and the same ,being1 and are interpreted to us by one and the same ,wisdom4 ,it would be well for us all if we could understand how far-reaching this great truth is1 and an intelligent study of this passage certainly helps us to understand it4 ,none of us1 in our wildest moments1 think of pitting ourselves against the laws of nature4 ,we do not murmur against the law of gravitation2 we scrupulously conform to it so far as we can1 knowing that if we do not it will be the worse for us4 ,when heavy seas are breaking1 and the spirit of the winds is let loose1 we do not venture on the waves in a small1 open boat1 or if we do1 we accept the consequences without complaint4 ,but when we come to deal with the moral law we entertain some idea that it is elastic and uncertain1 that its requirements may be complied with or not at pleasure1 and that we may violate its eternal principles without any serious loss or injury4 ,but the truth is1 the ,law is one4 ,the only difference arises from the fact that while the natural laws1 applying to inanimate objects or to creatures which enjoy no freedom of moral life1 are necessarily obeyed1 the moral rules apply to conscious reasoning creatures1 who1 possessed of freedom1 are able to choose whether they will obey the law or not4 ,yes1 the ,law is one1 and breaches of the ,law are punished inevitably both in the natural and in the moral sphere4 ,this same ,wisdom1 to which wickedness is an abomination1 and which therefore exhorts the sons of men to walk in the ways of righteousness1 is the great principle which ordered the physical universe and stamped upon it those laws of uniformity and inevitableness which ,science delights to record and to illustrate4 ,but when we notice how the ,wisdom who is here speaking is at once the mouthpiece of the laws which underlie the whole creation and of the laws which govern the moral life1 it is easy to perceive how this passage becomes a foreshadowing of that wonderful ,being who of ,god is made unto us ,wisdom as well as ,righteousness4 ,or1 to put it in a slightly different way1 we are able to perceive how this passage is a faint and imperfect glimpse into the nature and the work of ,him whom in ,new ,testament phraseology we call the ,son of ,god--faint and imperfect1 because this ,wisdom1 although represented as speaking1 is still only an abstraction1 a personification1 and her relation both to ,god and to man is described in very vague and indefinite language2 and yet1 though faint and imperfect1 very true as far as it goes1 for it recognizes with wonderful distinctness the three truths which we have just been considering1 truths that have become luminous for us in ,christ2 it recognizes1 firstly1 that the world was the creation of ,wisdom1 of ,reason1 or1 if we may use the ,new ,testament term1 of the ,word2 it recognizes1 secondly1 that the thought of ,man was contained in the very thought of creation1 and that man was related in a direct and unique way with the ,creator2 lastly1 it recognizes that goodness lies at the very root of creation1 and that therefore natural law when applied to human life is a demand for righteousness4 ,it is interesting to observe that this glimpse1 this adumbration of a great truth1 which was only to become quite clear in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord1 was advanced a little in clearness and completeness by a book which is not generally considered to be inspired1 the so-called book of ,wisdom1 in a passage which must be quoted4 ,for she i4e4 ,wisdom is a breath of the power of ,god1 and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the ,almighty2 therefore can no defiled thing fall into her4 ,for she is the brightness of the everlasting light1 the unspotted mirror of the power of ,god1 and the image of ,his goodness4 ,and being but one1 she can do all things2 and remaining in herself1 she maketh all things new2 and in all ages entering into holy souls1 she maketh them friends of ,god and prophets4 ,for ,god loveth none but him that dwelleth with ,wisdom4 ,for she is more beautiful than the sun1 and above all the order of stars2 being compared with the light1 she is found before it4#acj ,in this passage ,wisdom is still a mere impersonation1 but the language employed is evidently very near to that which the ,new ,testament applies to ,christ4 ,when ,philo came to treat of the idea1 and wished to describe this intermediate being between ,god and man1 he employed another term2 changing the feminine into the masculine1 he spoke of it as the ,logos4 ,and this expression is adopted by the ,fourth ,gospel in describing the ,eternal ,son before ,he became flesh2 the ,word of the fuller revelation is the ,wisdom of the ,proverbs4 ,how far ,christ recognized in this impersonation of our book a description or representation of ,himself it is impossible to say4 ,it is certain that on one occasion1 in defending ,his action against the charges of the ,pharisees1 ,he declared1 ,wisdom is justified of her children1#aca a defence which can be most simply explained by supposing that ,wisdom stands for ,himself4 ,it is certain1 too1 that ,he spoke of ,his own pre-existence1#acb and that the ,evangelist assigns to ,him in that life before the ,incarnation a position not unlike that which is attributed to ,wisdom in our passage3 ,all things were made by ,him2 and without ,him was not anything made that hath been made4444 ,no man hath seen ,god at any time2 the only begotten ,son1 which is in the bosom of the ,father1 ,he hath declared ,him4#acc ,but whether our ,lord expressly acknowledged the forecast of ,himself which is contained in the passage or not1 we cannot fail to mark with joy and wonder how strikingly all that is best in the utterance and in the delineation of ,wisdom is produced1 concrete1 tangible1 real1 in ,him4 ,he1 like ,wisdom in the book of ,proverbs1 appears in the busy haunts of man1 appeals to them1 invites them with large1 open-armed generosity4 ,his voice is to the sons of men4 ,he1 like ,wisdom1 can say with absolute truth1 ,all the words of ,my mouth are in righteousness2 there is nothing crooked or perverse in them4 ,he too could speak of ,his teaching as plain and right1 and could with simple literalness declare that ,his words were more precious than gold1 while obedience to ,him would cause men to inherit substance4 ,with what force ,he might claim that even kings rule by ,him we shall only know when the kingdoms of the world have become ,his in their integrity2 but we can see at once how appropriate in ,his lips is the beautiful saying1 ,i love them that love ,me1 and those that seek ,me early shall find ,me4 ,with equal suitability might ,he1 the ,first-born of all creation1 the beginning of the creation of ,god1 use the sublime language which follows4 ,and ,he too could say that ,his delight was with the sons of men4 ,yes1 how much that means to us6 ,if ,his delight had not been with us1 how could ours ever have been with ,him8 ,what a new meaning irradiates every human being when we realize that with him1 with her1 is the delight of the ,son of ,god6 ,what a revelation lies in the fact1 a revelation of what man was by his origin1 made in the image of ,god1 and of what he may be in the last event1 brought to the fulness of the measure of the stature of ,christ4 ,we must not speak as if ,he delights in us because ,he has redeemed us2 no1 ,he redeemed us because ,he delighted in us4 ,is not this a ground on which ,he may appeal to us1 ,now therefore1 my sons1 hearken unto ,me2 for blessed are they that keep ,my ways8 ,and can we not say to ,him with a fervour which the cold abstraction of ,wisdom could not possibly excite1 ,we would watch daily at ,thy gates1 waiting at the posts of ,thy doors4 ,for when we find ,thee we find life and obtain favour of the ,lord4 ,when we sin against ,thee we wrong our own souls2 when we hate ,thee we love death8 ,yes1 in place of this ancient ,wisdom1 which1 stately and lovely as she is1 remains always a little intangible and unapproachable1 ,christ is made unto us ,wisdom1 and ,he speaks to us the old words with a deeper meaning1 and new words which none but ,he could ever speak4 ,,footnotes3 #aag ,prov4 viii4 #a-f4 #aah ,prov4 viii4 #g-i4 #aai ,prov4 viii4 #bj4 #abj ,prov4 viii4 #h1 #i4 #aba ,prov4 viii4 #ah4 #abb ,prov4 viii4 #aj-af4 #abc ,prov4 viii4 #ag4 #abd ,prov4 viii4 #bb4 ,there is unfortunately an ambiguity in the word 4 ,it may mean either to possess or to create4 ,cf4 ,gen4 xiv4 #ai1 #bb1 where it is impossible to decide between ,possessor of the earth and ,maker of the earth4 ,that the word might be rendered got in this passage is evident from iv4 #g1 where it is employed2 on the other hand1 the ,,lxx4 renders 1 and the author of ,ecclesiasticus evidently took it in this sense2 cf4 i4 #d1 ,wisdom hath been created before all things1 and the understanding of prudence from everlasting4 ,in ,gen4 iv4 it is rendered gotten1 but it is quite possible that the joyful mother called her son with the feeling that she had created him with the help of the ,lord4 #abe ,prov4 viii4 #bf4 #abf ,milton1 ,paradise ,lost1 vii4 #bbe4 #abg ,prov4 viii4 #bi4 ,it is hardly necessary to point out that the language betrays a complete ignorance of those facts with which astronomy and geology have made us familiar4 ,the author puts into the lips of ,wisdom the scientific conceptions of his own time1 when the earth was regarded as a flat surface1 covered by a solid circular vault1 in which the sun1 and moon1 and stars were fixed4 ,the circle upon the flood is probably the apparent circle which is suggested to the observer by the horizon4 ,no one had as yet dreamed that the mountains were thrown up by1 not settled in1 the surface of the earth1 nor was it dreamed that the bounds of the sea are far from being settled1 but subject to gradual variations1 and even to cataclysmal changes4 ,it may be observed1 however1 that the voyage of the ,challenger seems to have established beyond question that the great outlines of land and ocean have remained approximately the same from the beginning4 ,ocean islands are of volcanic origin or the work of the coral-insect2 but the great continents and all contained within the fringe of a thousand-fathom depth from their shores have remained practically unaltered despite the numerous partial upheavals or submergences4 ,a passage so full of spiritual and moral significance1 and yet so entirely untouched by what are to us the elementary conclusions of science1 should furnish a valuable criterion in estimating what we are to understand by the ,inspiration of such a book as this4 #abh ,cf4 x4 #bc4 #abi ,prov4 viii4 #bb-ca4 #acj ,wisdom vii4 #be-bi4 ,the book of ,wisdom1 a work of the second century ,b4,c41 at one time had a place in the canon1 and owes its exclusion1 in all probability1 to the fact that it was written in ,greek2 as there was no ,hebrew original1 it was evident that ,solomon was not the author4 ,but the use which the ,epistle to the ,hebrews makes of the passage quoted in the text may suggest how very unnecessary the exclusion from the canon was4 #aca ,luke vii4 #ce2 ,matt4 xi4 #ai4 #acb ,john viii4 #eh4 #acc ,john i4 #c1 #ah4 ,,ix4 ,,two ,,voices ,,in ,,the ,,high ,,places ,,of ,,the ,,city4 ,,ch4 ,,ix41 ,,vv4 #ad ,,with #c1 ,,and #af ,,with #d4 ,after the lengthened contrast between the vicious woman and ,wisdom in chaps4 vii4 and viii41 the introduction of the book closes with a little picture which is intended to repeat and sum up all that has gone before4 ,it is a peroration1 simple1 graphic1 and beautiful4 ,there is a kind of competition between ,wisdom and ,folly1 between ,righteousness and ,sin1 between ,virtue and ,vice2 and the allurements of the two are disposed in an intentional parallelism2 the colouring and arrangement are of such a kind that it becomes incredible how any sensible person1 or for that matter even the simple himself1 could for a moment hesitate between the noble form of ,wisdom and the meretricious attractions of ,folly4 ,the two voices are heard in the high places of the city2 each of them invites the passers-by1 especially the simple and unsophisticated--the one into her fair palace1 the other into her foul and deadly house4 ,the words of their invitation are very similar3 ,whoso is simple1 let him turn in hither3 as for him that is void of understanding1 she saith to him2 but how different is the burden of the two messages6 ,wisdom offers life1 but is silent about enjoyment2 ,folly offers enjoyment1 but says nothing of the death which must surely ensue4#acd ,first of all we will give our attention to the ,palace of ,wisdom and the voices which issue from it1 and then we will note for the last time the features and the arts of ,mistress ,folly4 ,the ,palace of ,wisdom is very attractive2 well built and well furnished1 it rings with the sounds of hospitality2 and1 with its open colonnades1 it seems of itself to invite all passers-by to enter in as guests4 ,it is reared upon seven well-hewn marble pillars1 in a quadrangular form1 with the entrance side left wide open4#ace ,this is no shifting tent or tottering hut1 but an eternal mansion1 that lacks nothing of stability1 or completeness1 or beauty4 ,through the spacious doorways may be seen the great courtyard1 in which appear the preparations for a perpetual feast4 ,the beasts are killed and dressed2 the wine stands in tall flagons ready mixed for drinking2 the tables are spread and decked4 ,all is open1 generous1 large1 a contrast to that unhallowed private supper to which the unwary youth was invited by his seducer4#acf ,there are no secret chambers1 no twilight suggestions and insinuations3 the broad light shines over all2 there is a promise of social joy2 it seems that they will be blessed who sit down together at this board4 ,and now the beautiful owner of the palace has sent forth her maidens into the public ways of the city3 theirs is a gracious errand2 they are not to chide with sour and censorious rebukes1 but they are to invite with winning friendliness2 they are to offer this rare repast1 which is now ready1 to all those who are willing to acknowledge their need of it4 ,come1 eat ye of my bread1 and drink of the wine which ,i have mingled4#acg ,we were led to inquire in the last chapter how far our ,lord identified ,himself with the hypostatic ,wisdom who was speaking there1 and we were left in some doubt whether ,he ever consciously admitted the identity2 but it is hardly a matter of doubt that this passage was before ,his mind when ,he spoke ,his parable of the ,wedding ,feast4#ach ,and the connection is still more apparent when we look at the ,greek version of the ,,lxx41 and notice that the clause sent forth her bond-servants is precisely the same in ,prov4 ix4 #c and in ,matt4 xxii4 #c4 ,here1 at any rate1 ,jesus1 who describes ,himself as a certain king1 quite definitely occupies the place of the ancient ,wisdom in the book of ,proverbs1 and the language which in this passage she employs ,he1 as we shall see1 in many slight particulars made ,his own4 ,yes1 our ,lord1 the ,wisdom ,incarnate1 has glorious ideas of hospitality2 ,he keeps open house2 ,his purpose is to call mankind to a great feast2 the bread and the wine are prepared2 the sacrifice which furnishes the meat is slain4 ,his messengers are not commissioned with a mournful or a condemnatory proclamation1 but with good tidings which they are to publish in the high places4 ,his word is always1 ,come4 ,his desire is that men should live1 and therefore ,he calls them into the way of understanding4#aci ,if a man lacks wisdom1 if he recognizes his ignorance1 his frailty1 his folly1 if he is at any rate wise enough to know that he is foolish1 well enough to know that he is sick1 righteous enough to know that he is sinful1 let him approach this noble mansion with its lordly feast4 ,here is bread which is meat indeed2 here is wine which is life-giving1 the fruit of the ,vine which ,god has planted4 ,but now we are to note that the invitation of ,wisdom is addressed only to the simple1 not to the scorner4#adj ,she lets the scorner pass by1 because a word to him would recoil only in shame on herself1 bringing a blush to her queenly face1 and would add to the scorner's wickedness by increasing his hatred of her4 ,her reproof would not benefit him1 but it would bring a blot upon herself1 it would exhibit her as ineffectual and helpless4 ,the bitter words of a scorner can make wisdom appear foolish1 and cover virtue with a confusion which should belong only to vice4 ,speak not in the hearing of a fool2 for he will despise the wisdom of thy words4#ada ,indeed1 there is no character so hopeless as that of the scorner2 there proceeds from him1 as it were1 a fierce blast1 which blows away all the approaches which goodness makes to him4 ,reproof cannot come near him2#adb he cannot find wisdom1 though he seek it2#adc and as a matter of fact1 he never seeks it4#add ,if one attempts to punish him it can only be with the hope that others may benefit by the example2 it will have no effect upon him4#ade ,to be rid of him must be the desire of every wise man1 for he is an abomination to all1#adf and with his departure contention disappears4#adg ,they that scoff at things holy1 and scorn the ,divine ,power1 must be left to themselves until the beginnings of wisdom appear in them--the first sense of fear that there is a ,god who may not be mocked1 the first recognition that there is a sanctity which they would do well at all events to reverence4 ,there must be a little wisdom in the heart before a man can enter the ,palace of ,wisdom2 there must be a humbling1 a self-mistrust1 a diffident misgiving before the scorner will give heed to her invitation4 ,there is an echo of this solemn truth in more than one saying of the ,lord's4 ,he too cautioned ,his disciples against casting their pearls before swine1 lest they should trample the pearls under their feet1 and turn to rend those who were foolish enough to offer them such treasure4#adh ,men must often be taught in the stern school of ,experience1 before they can matriculate in the reasonable college of ,wisdom4 ,it is not good to give that which is holy to dogs1 nor to display the sanctities of religion to those who will only put them to an open shame4 ,where we follow our own way instead of the ,lord's1 and insist on offering the treasures of the kingdom to the scorners1 we are not acting according to the dictates of ,wisdom1 we get a blot for that goodness which we so rashly offer1 and often are needlessly rent by those whom we meant to save4 ,it is evident that this is only one side of a truth1 and our ,lord presented with equal fulness the other side2 it was from ,him we learnt how the scorner himself1 who cannot be won by reproof1 can sometimes be won by love2 but our ,lord thought it worth while to state this side of the truth1 and so far to make this utterance of the ancient ,wisdom ,his own4 ,again1 how constantly ,he insisted on the mysterious fact that to him that hath shall be given1 and from him that hath not shall be taken what he hath1 precisely in the spirit of this saying3 ,give instruction to a wise man1 and he will be yet wiser3 teach a righteous man1 and he will increase in learning4#adi ,the entrance into the kingdom1 as into the house of ,wisdom1 is by humility4 ,except a man turn1 and become as a little child1 he cannot enter4 ,wisdom is only justified of her children3 until the heart is humble it cannot even begin to be wise2 although it may seem to possess a great deal1 all must be taken away1 and a new beginning must be made--that beginning which is found in the fear of the ,lord1 and in the knowledge of the ,holy ,one4#aej ,the closing words in the invitation of ,wisdom are entirely appropriate in the lips of ,jesus1 and1 indeed1 only in ,his lips could they be accepted in their fullest signification4 ,there is a limited sense in which all wisdom is favourable to long life1 as we saw in chap4 iii41 but it is an obvious remark1 too1 that the wise perish even as the fool2 one event happens to them both1 and there appears to be no difference4 ,but the ,incarnate ,wisdom1 ,jesus ,christ1 was able to say with a broad literalness1 ,by ,me thy days shall be multiplied1 and the years of thy life shall be increased4 ,with ,him the outlook widened2 ,he could speak of a new life1 of raising men up at the last day2 ,he could for the first time give a solution to that constant enigma which has puzzled men from the beginning1 ,how is it that ,wisdom promises life1 and yet often requires that her children should die8 how is it that the best and wisest have often chosen death1 and so to all appearance have robbed the world of their goodness and their wisdom8 ,he could give the answer in the glorious truth of the ,resurrection2 and so1 in calling men to die for ,him1 as ,he often does1 ,he can in the very moment of their death say to them with a fulness of meaning1 ,by ,me thy days shall be multiplied1 and the years of thy life shall be increased4 ,and then how entirely is it in harmony with all ,his teaching to emphasize to the utmost the individual choice and the individual responsibility4 ,if thou art wise1 thou art wise for thyself3 and if thou scornest1 thou alone shalt bear it4 ,there can be no progress1 indeed no beginning1 in the spiritual life1 until this attitude of personal isolation is understood4 ,it is the last result of true religion that we live in others2 but it is the first that we live in ourselves2 and until we have learnt to live in ourselves we can be of no use by living in others4 ,until the individual soul is dealt with1 until it has understood the demands which are made upon it1 and met them1 it is in no position to take its rightful place as a lively stone in the temple of ,god1 or as a living member in the body of ,christ4 ,yes1 realize this searching assurance of ,wisdom1 let us say1 rather1 of ,christ3 if you are like the wise virgins in the parable1 it is for your own everlasting good1 you shall enter into the hall with the ,bridegroom2 but if you are like the foolish virgins1 no wisdom of the wise can avail you1 no vicarious light will serve for your lamps2 for you there must be the personal humiliation and sorrow of the ,lord's ,i know you not4 ,if with scornful indifference to your high trust as a servant of the ,master you hide your talent1 and justify your conduct to yourself by pleading that the ,master is a hard man1 that scorn must recoil upon your own head2 so far from the enlarged wealth of the others coming to meet your deficiencies1 the misused trifle which you still retain will be taken from you and given to them4 ,men have sometimes favoured the notion that it is possible to spend a life of scornful indifference to ,god and all ,his holy commandments1 a life of arrogant self-seeking and bitter contempt for all ,his other creatures1 and yet to find oneself at the end entirely purged of one's contempt1 and on precisely equal terms with all pious and humble hearts2 but against this notion ,wisdom loudly exclaims2 it is the notion of ,folly1 and so far from redeeming the folly1 it is ,folly's worst condemnation2 for surely ,conscience and ,reason1 the heart and the head1 might tell us that it is false2 and all that is sanest and wisest in us concurs in the direct and simple assurance1 ,if thou scornest1 thou alone shalt bear it4 ,such is the invitation1 and such the warning1 of ,wisdom2 such is the invitation1 and such the warning1 of ,christ4 ,leave off1 ye simple ones1 and live4 ,after all1 most of us are not scorners1 but only very foolish1 easily dazzled with false lights1 easily misled with smooth utterances which happen to chime in with our own ignorant prejudices1 easily seduced into by-paths which in quiet moments we readily acknowledge to be sinful and hurtful4 ,the scorners are but a few2 the simple ones are many4 ,here is this gracious voice appealing to the simple ones1 and with a winsome liberality inviting them to the feast of ,wisdom4 ,at the close of ver4 #ab the ,,lxx4 give a very interesting addition1 which was probably translated from a ,hebrew original4 ,it seems to have been before our ,lord's mind when ,he drew the description of the unclean spirit walking through waterless places1 seeking rest and finding none4#aea ,the passage is a figurative delineation of the evils which result from making shams and insincerities the support of life1 in place of the unfailing sureness and available strength of wisdom2 it may be rendered thus3 ,he who makes falsehood his support shepherds the winds1 and will find himself pursuing birds on the wing2 for it means leaving the paths of his own vineyard1 and wandering over the borders of his own husbandry2 it means walking through a waterless wilderness1 over land which is the portion of the thirsty2 he gathers in his hands fruitlessness4 ,what a contrast to the spacious halls and the bountiful fare of ,wisdom6 ,a life based upon everlasting verities may seem for the time cold and desolate1 but it is founded upon a rock1 and not a barren rock either1 for it sends forth in due course corn1 and wine1 and oil4 ,the children in that house have bread enough and to spare4 ,but when a man prefers make-believe to reality1 and follows the apparently pleasant1 instead of the actually good1 what a clutching of winds it is6 what a chase after swift-vanishing birds of joy6 ,the wholesome ways1 fruitful1 responsive to toil1 are left far behind2 and here soon is the actual desert1 without a drop of water to cool the lips1 or a single fruit of the earth which a man can eat4 ,the deluded soul consumed his substance with harlots1 and he gathers the wind4 ,the ways of vice are terrible2 they produce a thirst which they cannot quench2 and they fill the imagination with torturing images of well-being which are farther removed from reality by every step we take4 ,wisdom bids us to make truth our stay1 for after all the ,truth is the ,way and the ,life1 and there is no other way1 no other life4 ,and now comes the brief closing picture of ,folly1 to which again the ,,lxx4 give a short addition4 ,folly is loud1 empty-headed as her victims1 whom she invites to herself1 not as ,wisdom invites them1 to leave off their simplicity1 but rather as like to like1 that their ignorance may be confirmed into vice1 and their simplicity into brutishness4 ,she has had the effrontery to build her house in the most prominent and lofty place of the city1 where by good rights only ,wisdom should dwell4 ,her allurements are specially directed to those who seem to be going right on in their wholesome ways1 as if she found her chief delight1 not in gratifying the vicious1 but in making vicious the innocent4 ,her charms are poor and tawdry enough2 seen in the broad sunlight1 and with the wholesome air all round her1 she would be revolting to every uncorrupted nature2 her clamorous voice would sound strident1 and her shameless brow would create a blush of shame in others2 she naturally therefore seeks to throw a veil over herself and a glamour over her proposals2 she suggests that secrecy and illicitness will lend a charm to what in itself is a sorry delight4 ,it is clandestine1 therefore it is to be sweet2 it is forbidden1 therefore it is to be pleasant4 ,could anything be more sophistical8 ,that which owes its attraction to the shadows of the night must obviously be intrinsically unattractive4 ,it is an argument fit only for the shades of the lost1 and not for those who breathe the sweet air and behold the sun4 ,her house is indeed haunted with ghosts1 and when a man enters her portal he already has his foot in hell4 ,well may the ,,lxx4 add the vehement warning1 ,spring away from her clutches2 do not linger in the place2 let her not have thy name1 for thou wilt traverse another's waters2 from another's waters hold aloof1 from another's fountains do not drink1 in order that thou mayest live long1 and add to thy years of life4 ,and now1 before leaving this subject1 we must briefly remark the great change and advance which ,christ has brought into our thought of the relation between the two sexes4 ,this ,book of ,wisdom is a fair illustration of the contempt in which woman was held by the wise men of ,israel4 ,one would suppose that she is the temptress1 and man is the victim4 ,the teacher never dreams of going a step backward1 and asking whose fault it was that the temptress fell into her vicious ways4 ,he takes no note of the fact that women are first led astray before they lead others4 ,nor does he care to inquire how the men of his day ruined their women by refusing to them all mental training1 all wholesome interest and occupation1 shutting them up in the corrupting atmosphere of the seraglio1 and teaching them to regard the domestic sphere1 and that only in its narrowest sense1 as the proper limit of their thought and affection4 ,it was reserved for the ,great ,teacher1 the ,incarnate ,wisdom ,himself1 to redress this age-long injustice to woman1 by sternly holding up to men the mirror of truth in which they might see their own guilty hearts4#aeb ,it was reserved for him to touch the conscience of a city woman who was a sinner1 and to bring her from her clamorous and seductive ways to the sweetness of penitential tears1 and the rapturous love which forgiveness kindles4 ,it is ,he1 and not the ancient ,wisdom1 which has turned the current of men's thoughts into juster and kindlier ways on this great question4 ,and thus it is that the great ,christian poet represents the archangel correcting the faulty judgment of man4#aec ,adam1 speaking with the usual virtuous indignation of the stronger sex in contemplation of the soft vision of frail women presented to his eyes1 says3-- ,o pity and shame1 that they1 who to live well ,entered so fair1 should turn aside to tread ,paths indirect1 or in the midway faint6 ,but still ,i see the tenour of man's woe ,holds on the same1 from woman to begin4 ,the correction is the correction of ,christ1 though ,michael is the speaker3-- ,from man's effeminate slackness it begins1 ,said the angel1 who should better hold his place1 ,by wisdom and superior gifts received4 ,our ,lord draws no such pictures as these in the book of ,proverbs2 they have their value2 it is necessary to warn young men against the seductions which the vices of other men have created in woman's form2 but ,he prefers always to go to the root of the matter2 ,he speaks to men themselves2 ,he bids them restrain the wandering eye1 and keep pure the fountains of the heart4 ,to that censorious ,wisdom which judges without any perception that woman is more sinned against than sinning ,he would oppose ,his severe command to be rid of the beam in one's own eye1 before making an attempt to remove the mote from another's4 ,it is in this way that ,he in so many varied fields of thought and action has turned a half truth into a whole truth by going a little deeper1 and unveiling the secrets of the heart2 and in this way ,he has enabled us to use the half truth1 setting it in its right relation to the whole4#aed ,,footnotes3 #acd ,cf4 for this contrast between the two xxiii4 #bf-bh1 where ,wisdom speaks1 and expressly warns against her rival4 #ace ,the arrangement of the house is that of an open courtyard1 surrounded with apartments1 the general roof supported on the pillars thus4 ,illustration #acf ,prov4 vii4 #ad4 #acg ,prov4 ix4 #e4 #ach ,matt4 xxii4 #a1 et seq4 #aci ,prov4 ix4 #f4 #adj ,prov4 ix4 #g4 #ada ,prov4 xxiii4 #i4 #adb ,prov4 xiii4 #a4 #adc ,prov4 xiv4 #f4 #add ,prov4 xv4 #ab4 #ade ,prov4 xix4 #be4 #adf ,prov4 xxiv4 #i4 #adg ,prov4 xxii4 #aj4 #adh ,matt4 vii4 #f4 #adi ,prov4 ix4 #i4 ,cf4 xviii4 #ae1 ,the heart of the prudent getteth knowledge2 and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge4 #aej ,prov4 ix4 #aj4 #aea ,matt4 xii4 #dc4 #aeb ,see ,john viii4 #a et seq4 #aec ,milton1 ,paradise ,lost1 xi4 #fej etc4 #aed ,the fuller teaching of the book on the subject of ,woman will be found in ,lect4 ,,xxxi4 ,x4 ,,wealth4 ,treasures of wickedness profit nothing3 ,but righteousness delivereth from death4--,,prov4 x4 #b4 ,o'erweening statesmen have full long relied ,on fleets and armies and external wealth2 ,but from within proceeds a ,nation's health4 ,,wordsworth4 ,no moral system is complete which does not treat with clearness and force the subject of wealth4 ,the material possessions of an individual or of a nation are in a certain sense the pre-requisites of all moral life2 for until the human being has food to eat he cannot be virtuous1 he cannot even live2 until he has clothing he cannot be civilised2 and unless he has a moderate assurance of necessaries1 and a certain margin of leisure secured from the toil of life1 he cannot live well1 and there can be no moral development in the full sense of that term4 ,and so with a nation3 it must have a sufficient command of the means of subsistence to maintain a considerable number of people who are not engaged in productive labour1 before it can make much advance in the noblest qualities of national life1 progress in the arts1 extension of knowledge1 and spiritual cultivation4 ,the production of wealth1 therefore1 if not strictly speaking a moral question itself1 presses closely upon all other moral questions4 ,wisdom must have something to say about it1 because1 without it1 ,wisdom1 in a material world like ours1 could not exist4 ,wisdom will be called upon to direct the energies which produce wealth1 and to determine the feelings with which we are to regard the wealth which is produced4 ,moral problems weightier still begin to emerge when the question of ,distribution presents itself4 ,moral considerations lie at the root of this question2 and ,political ,economy1 so far as it attempts to deal with it apart from moral considerations1 must always be merely a speculative1 and not a practical or a fruitful science4 ,if ,production is in a sense the presupposition of all moral and spiritual life1 no less certainly correct moral conceptions--may we not even say true spiritual conditions8--are the indispensable means of determining ,distribution4 ,for a society in which every individual is striving with all his strength or cunning to procure for himself the largest possible share of the common stock1 in which therefore the material possessions gravitate into the hands of the strong and the unscrupulous1 while the weak and the honourable are left destitute--such a society1 if it ever came into existence1 would be a demoralised society4 ,such a demoralisation is always probable when the means of production have been rapidly and greatly improved1 and when the fever of getting has overpowered the sense of righteousness and all the kindlier human feelings4 ,such a demoralisation is to be averted by securing attention to the abiding moral principles which must govern men's action in the matter of wealth1 and by enforcing these principles with such vividness of illustration and such cogency of sanction that they shall be generally accepted and practised4 ,in our own day this question of the distribution of wealth stands in the front rank of practical questions4 ,religious teachers must face it1 or else they must forfeit their claim to be the guides and instructors of their generation4 ,socialists are grappling with this question not altogether in a religious spirit3 they have stepped into a gap which ,christians have left empty2 they have recognised a great spiritual issue when ,christians have seen nothing but a material problem of pounds1 shillings1 and pence1 of supply and demand1 of labour and capital4 ,where ,socialism adopts the programme of ,revolution1 ,wisdom cannot give in her adhesion2 she knows too well that suffering1 impatience1 and despair are unsafe1 although very pathetic1 counsellors2 she knows too well that social upheaval does not produce social reconstruction1 but a weary entail of fresh upheavals2 she has learnt1 too1 that society is organic1 and cannot1 like ,pelops in the myth1 win rejuvenescence by being cut up and cast into the cauldron1 but can advance only by a quiet and continuous growth1 in which each stage comes naturally and harmoniously out of the stage which preceded4 ,but all ,socialism is not revolutionary4 ,and ,wisdom cannot withhold her sympathy and her aid where ,socialism takes the form of stating1 and expounding1 and enforcing truer conceptions concerning the distribution of wealth4 ,it is by vigorous and earnest grappling with the moral problem that the way of advance is prepared2 every sound lesson therefore in the right way of regarding wealth1 and in the use of wealth1 is a step in the direction of that social renovation which all earnest men at present desire4 ,the book of ,proverbs presents some very clear and decisive teaching on this question1 and it is our task now to view this teaching1 scattered and disconnected though it be1 as a whole4 ,i4 ,the first thing to be noted in the book is its frank and full recognition that ,wealth has its advantages1 and ,poverty has its disadvantages4 ,there is no quixotic attempt to overlook1 as many moral and spiritual systems do1 the perfectly obvious facts of life4 ,the extravagance and exaggeration which led ,st4 ,francis to choose ,poverty as his bride find no more sanction in this ,ancient ,wisdom than in the sound teaching of our ,lord and ,his ,apostles4 ,the rich man's wealth is his strong city1#aee we are told1 and as an high wall in his own imagination1 while the destruction of the poor is their poverty4 ,the rich man can ransom himself from death if by chance he has fallen into difficulties1 though this benefit is to some extent counterbalanced by the reflection that the poor escape the threats of such dangers1 as no bandit would care to attack a man with an empty purse and a threadbare cloak4#aef ,the rich man gains many advantages through his power of making gifts2 it brings him before great men1#aeg it procures him universal friendship1 such as it is1#aeh it enables him to pacify the anger of an adversary1#aei for indeed a gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it1 whithersoever it turneth it prospereth4#afj ,not only does wealth make many friends1#afa it also secures positions of influence and authority1 over those who are poorer1 enabling a man to sit in ,parliament or to gain the governorship of a colony4#afb ,it gives even the somewhat questionable advantage of being able to treat others with brusqueness and hauteur4#afc ,on the other hand1 the poor man has to use entreaties4#afc ,his poverty separates him from his neighbours1 and even incurs his neighbours' hatred4#afd ,nay1 worse than this1 his friends go far from him1 his very brethren hate him1 if he calls after them they quickly get out of his reach2#afe while the necessity of borrowing from wealthier men keeps him in a position of continual bondage4#aff ,indeed1 nothing can compensate for being without the necessaries of life3 ,better is he that is lightly esteemed1 and is his own servant1 than he that honoureth himself1 and lacketh bread4#afg ,since then ,poverty is a legitimate subject of dread1 there are urgent exhortations to diligence and thrift1 quite in accordance with the excellent apostolic maxim that if a man will not work he shall not eat2 while there are forcible statements of the things which tend to poverty1 and of the courses which result in comfort and wealth4 ,thus it is pointed out how slack and listless labour leads to poverty1 while industry leads to wealth4#afh ,we are reminded that the obstinate refusal to be corrected is a fruitful source of poverty1#afi while the humble and pious mind is rewarded with riches as well as with honour and life4#agj ,in the house of the wise man are found treasures as well as all needful supplies4#aga ,drunkenness and gluttony lead to poverty1 and drowsiness clothes a man with rags4#agb ,and there is a beautiful injunction to engage in an agricultural life1 which is the only perennial source of wealth1 the only secure foundation of a people's prosperity4 ,as if we were back in patriarchal times1 we are thus admonished in the later proverbs of ,solomon#agc3-- ,be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks1 ,and look well to thy herds2 ,for riches are not for ever2 ,and doth the crown endure unto all generations8 ,the hay is carried1 and the tender grass showeth itself1 ,and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in4 ,the lambs are for thy clothing1 ,and the goats are the price of the field3 ,and there will be goats' milk enough for thy food1 for the food of thy household2 ,and maintenance for thy maidens4 ,,ii4 ,but now1 making all allowance for the advantages of wealth1 we have to notice some of its serious drawbacks4 ,to begin with1 it is always insecure4 ,if a man places any dependence upon it1 it will fail him2 only in his imagination is it a sure defence4#agd ,wilt thou set thine eyes upon it8 it is gone4 ,for riches certainly make themselves wings1 like an eagle that flieth toward heaven4#age ,but1 further1 if the wealth has been obtained in any other way than by honest labour it is useless1 at any rate for the owner1 and indeed worse than useless for him4#agf ,as the text says1 treasures of wickedness profit nothing4 ,in the revenues of the wicked is trouble4#agg ,got in light and fallacious ways1 the money dwindles2 only when gathered by labour does it really increase4#agh ,when it is obtained by falsehood--by the tricks and misrepresentations of trade1 for example--it may be likened to a vapour driven to and fro--nay1 rather to a mephitic vapour1 a deadly exhalation1 the snares of death4#agi ,worst of all is it to obtain wealth by oppression of the poor2 one who does so shall as surely come to want as he who gives money to those who do not need it4#ahj ,in fact1 our book contains the striking thought that ill-earned wealth is never gathered for the benefit of the possessor1 but only for the benefit of the righteous1 and must be useless until it gets into hands which will use it benevolently4#aha ,and while there are these serious drawbacks to material possessions1 we are further called upon to notice that there is wealth of another kind1 wealth consisting in moral or spiritual qualities1 compared with which wealth1 as it is usually understood1 is quite paltry and unsatisfying4 ,when the intrinsic defects of silver and gold have been frankly stated1 this earthy treasure is set1 as a whole1 in comparison with another kind of treasure1 and is observed to become pale and dim4 ,thus riches profit not in the day of wrath1 but righteousness delivereth from death4#ahb ,indeed it is only the blessing of the ,lord which brings riches without drawbacks4#ahc ,in the house of the righteous is much treasure4#ahd ,better is a little with righteousness than great treasure without right4#ahe ,in the light of these moral considerations the relative positions of the rich and the poor are reversed2 it is better to be an honest poor man than a perverse rich man2 the little grain of integrity in the heart and life outweighs all the balance at the bank4#ahf ,a little wisdom1 a little sound understanding1 or a little wholesome knowledge is more precious than wealth4 ,how much better is it to get wisdom than gold4 ,yea1 to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver4#ahg ,there may be gold and abundance of rubies1 but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel4#ahh ,nay1 there are some things apparently very trifling which will so depreciate material wealth that if a choice is to be made it is well to let the wealth go and to purchase immunity from these trivial troubles4 ,better is a little with the fear of the ,lord than great treasure and trouble therewith4 ,better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith4#ahi ,better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith than an house full of feasting with strife4#aij ,yes1 the good will and affectionate regard of our fellow-men are on the whole far more valuable than a large revenue4 ,a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches1 and loving favour rather than silver and gold4#aia ,indeed1 when the relations of the rich and the poor are brought up into ,god's presence our whole conception of the matter is liable to change2 we observe the rich and the poor meet together1 and the ,lord the maker of them all2#aib we observe that any slur cast on the poor or any oppression of them is practically a reproach against the ,maker1#aic whilst any act of pity or tenderness to the needy is in effect a service rendered to ,god2 and more and more we get to feel that notwithstanding the rich man's good opinion of himself he presents rather a sorry spectacle in the presence of the wise1 even though the wise may be exceedingly poor4#aid ,taking into account therefore the intrinsic insecurity of wealth1 and the terrible flaws in the title which may result from questionable ways of obtaining it1 and estimating at a right value the other things which are not usually reckoned as wealth1--goodness1 piety1 wisdom1 knowledge1 and love1--we can quite understand that enlightened men might be too busy in life to make money1 too occupied with grave purposes and engrossed with noble objects of pursuit to admit the perturbations of mammon into their souls4#aie ,making all allowance for the unquestionable advantages of being rich1 and the serious inconveniences of being poor1 we may yet see reasons for not greatly desiring wealth1 nor greatly dreading poverty4 ,,iii4 ,but now we come to the positive counsels which our ,teacher would give on the strength of these considerations about money and its acquisition4 ,and first of all we are solemnly cautioned against the fever of money-getting1 the passion to get rich1 a passion which has the most demoralising effect on its victims1 and is indeed an indication of a more or less perverted character4 ,the good man cannot be possessed by it1 and if he could he would soon become bad4#aif ,these grave warnings of ,wisdom are specially needed at the present time in ,england and ,america1 when the undisguised and the unrestrained pursuit of riches has become more and more recognised as the legitimate end of life1 so that few people feel any shame in admitting that this is their aim2 and the clear unimpassioned statements of the result1 which always follows on the unhallowed passion1 receive daily confirmation from the occasional revelations of our domestic1 our commercial1 and our criminal life4 ,he that is greedy of gain1 we are told1 troubleth his own house4#aig ,an inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning1 but the end thereof shall not be blessed4#aih ,a faithful man shall abound with blessings1 but he that maketh haste to be rich 7and consequently cannot by any possibility be faithful7 shall not be unpunished4#aii ,he that hath an evil eye hasteth after riches1 and knoweth not that want shall come upon him4#bjj ,weary not thyself1 therefore1 it is said1 to be rich2 which1 though it may be the dictate of thine own wisdom1#bja is really unmixed folly1 burdened with a load of calamity for the unfortunate seeker1 for his house1 and for all those who are in any way dependent upon him4 ,again1 while we are cautioned not to aim constantly at the increase of our possessions1 we are counselled to exercise a generous liberality in the disposal of such things as are ours4 ,curiously enough1 niggardliness in giving is associated with slothfulness in labour1 while it is implied that the wish to help others is a constant motive for due diligence in the business of life4 ,there is that coveteth greedily all the day long1 but the righteous giveth and withholdeth not4#bjb ,the law of nature1--the law of life1--is to give out and not merely to receive1 and in fulfilling that law we receive unexpected blessings3 ,there is that scattereth and increaseth yet more1 and there is that withholdeth more than is meet1 and it tendeth only to want4 ,the liberal soul shall be made fat2 and he that watereth shall be watered also himself4#bjc ,he that giveth to the poor shall not lack2 but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse4#bjd ,he that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the ,lord1 and his good deed will ,he pay him again4#bje ,he that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed2 for he giveth of his bread to the poor4#bjf ,such a wholesome shunning of the thirst for wealth1 and such a generous spirit in aiding others1 naturally suggest to the wise man a daily prayer1 a request that he may avoid the dangerous extremes1 and walk in the happy mean of worldly possessions3 ,give me neither poverty nor riches2 feed me with the food that is needful for me2 lest ,i be full and deny thee1 and say1 ,who is the ,lord8 or lest ,i be poor and steal1 and use profanely the name of my ,god4#bjg ,it is a request not easy to make with perfect sincerity2 there are not many who1 like ,emerson's grandfather1 venture to pray that neither they nor their descendants may ever be rich2 while there have been not a few who in a show of wisdom in will-worship and humility and severity to the body have sought for an unnecessary and an unwholesome poverty4 ,but it is a wise request2 it finds an echo in the prayer which our ,lord taught ,his disciples1 and constantly appears inwoven in the apostolic teaching4 ,and if the individual is to desire such things for himself1 he must naturally desire that such may be the lot of his fellow-creatures1 and he must make it the aim of his efforts after social reform to indefinitely increase the number of those who occupy this happy middle position1 and have neither riches nor poverty4 ,and now we have followed the lines of teaching contained in this book on the subject of wealth1 and it is impossible to miss the wisdom1 the moderation1 the inspiration of such counsels4 ,we cannot fail to see that if these principles were recognised universally1 and very generally practised2 if they were ingrained in the constitution of our children1 so as to become the instinctive motives and guides of action2 the serious social troubles which arise from the unsatisfactory distribution of wealth would rapidly disappear4 ,happy would that society be in which all men were aiming1 not at riches1 but merely at a modest competency1 dreading the one extreme as much as the other2 in which the production of wealth were constantly moderated and controlled by the conviction that wealth gotten by vanity is as the snares of death2 in which all who had become the owners of wealth were ready to give and glad to distribute1 counting a wise benevolence1 which in giving to the needy really lends to the ,lord1 the best investment in the world4 ,if these neglected principles are hitherto very faintly recognised1 we must recollect that they have never been seriously preached4 ,although they were theoretically taught1 and practically lived out1 in the words and the life of ,jesus ,christ1 they have never been fully incorporated into ,christianity4 ,the medival ,church fell into the perilous doctrines of the ,ebionites1 and glorified poverty in theory while in practice it became an engine of unparalleled rapacity4 ,protestantism has generally been too much occupied with the great principle of ,justification by ,faith to pay much attention to such a writing as the ,epistle of ,st4 ,james1 which ,luther described as a letter of straw2 and thus1 while we all believe that we are saved by faith in ,christ ,jesus1 it seldom occurs to us that such a faith must include the most exact and literal obedience to ,his teachings4 ,christian men unblushingly serve ,mammon1 and yet hope that they are serving ,god too1 because they believe on ,him whom ,god sent--though ,he whom ,god sent expressly declared that the two services could not be combined4 ,christian men make it the effort of a lifetime to become rich1 although ,christ declared that it was easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven2 and when they hear that ,christ required an intending follower to sell all that he had and give to the poor1 they explain it away1 and maintain that ,he does not require such a sacrifice from them1 but simply asks them to believe in the ,atonement4 ,in this way ,christians have made their religion incredible1 and even ridiculous1 to many of the most earnest spirits of our time4 ,when ,christ is made unto them ,wisdom as well as ,redemption1 they will see that the principles of ,wisdom which concern wealth are obligatory upon them1 just because they profess to believe in ,christ4 ,,footnotes3 #aee ,prov4 x4 #ae2 xviii4 #aa4 #aef ,prov4 xiii4 #h4 #aeg ,prov4 xviii4 #af4 #aeh ,prov4 xix4 #f2 xiv4 #bj4 #aei ,prov4 xxi4 #ad4 #afj ,prov4 xvii4 #h4 ,more literally3 ,a precious stone is the gift in the eyes of him who gets possession of it1 whithersoever he turneth he deals wisely4 ,that is to say1 the man who receives the gift1 whether a judge or a witness or an opponent1 is as it were retained for the giver1 and induced to use his best faculties in behalf of his retainer4 #afa ,prov4 xix4 #d3 ,wealth addeth many friends1 but the poor--his companion separates from him4 #afb ,prov4 xxii4 #ag4 #afc ,prov4 xviii4 #bc4 #afd ,prov4 xiv4 #bj2 xix4 #d4 #afe ,prov4 xix4 #g4 ,the sense of the ,authorised ,version is here retained1 but it will be seen in ,lecture ,,xii4 that there is good reason for treating the third clause of the verse as a mutilated fragment of another proverb3 see p4 #aff4 #aff ,prov4 xxii4 #g4 #afg ,prov4 xii4 #i4 ,this reading is obtained by following the ,,lxx41 whose translation shows that they pointed 4 ,cf4 ,eccles4 x4 #bg3 ,better is he that laboureth and aboundeth in all things than he that boasteth himself and lacketh bread4 #afh ,prov4 x4 #d4 #afi ,prov4 xiii4 #ah4 #agj ,prov4 xxii4 #d4 #aga ,prov4 xxi4 #bj4 #agb ,prov4 xxiii4 #ba4 #agc ,prov4 xxvii4 #bc-bg4 #agd ,prov4 xi4 #bh4 #age ,prov4 xxiii4 #e 7marg474 #agf ,cf4 the ,turkish proverb3 ,of riches lawfully gained the devil takes half1 of riches unlawfully gained he takes the whole and the owner too4 #agg ,prov4 xv4 #f1 cf4 xiv4 #bd1 ,a crown of the wise is their riches1 but the folly of fools1 7though they be rich1 remains nothing but7 folly4 #agh ,prov4 xiii4 #aa4 #agi ,prov4 xxi4 #f4 ,it is evident from their translation that the ,,lxx4 read as in ,psalm xviii4 #f1 and this gives a very graphic and striking sense1 while the received text of the ,hebrew1 1 is hardly intelligible4 #ahj ,prov4 xxii4 #af4 #aha ,prov4 xiii4 #bb2 xxviii4 #h4 #ahb ,prov4 xi4 #d4 #ahc ,prov4 x4 #bb4 #ahd ,prov4 xv4 #f4 #ahe ,prov4 xvi4 #h4 #ahf ,prov4 xix4 #a4 ,the parallelism in this verse is not so complete as in xxviii4 #f4 ,the ,peshitto reads1 than he who is perverse in his lips and is rich1 but it is better to retain the text and understand3 ,there is a poor man walking in his integrity1 and everyone thinks that he is to be commiserated2 but he is much better off than the fool with perverse lips1 though no one thinks of commiserating this last4 #ahg ,prov4 xvi4 #af4 #ahh ,prov4 xx4 #ae4 #ahi ,prov4 xv4 #af1 #ag4 #aij ,prov4 xvii4 #a4 #aia ,prov4 xxii4 #a4 ,this proverb is inscribed in the cupola which lights the ,manchester ,exchange4 ,it is a good skylight1 but apparently too high up for the busy merchants on the floor of the ,exchange to see without more effort than is to be expected of them4 #aib ,prov4 xxii4 #b4 #aic ,prov4 xiv4 #ca2 xvii4 #e4 #aid ,prov4 xxviii4 #aa4 ,cf4 an interesting addition to xvii4 #f in the ,,lxx4-- 4 ,the faithful man owns the whole world of possessions1 the unfaithful owns not a farthing4 #aie ,it is said of ,agassiz that he excused himself from engaging in a profitable lecturing tour on the ground that he had not time to make money4 #aif ,cf4 the saying of ,sirach3 ,winnow not with every wind and go not into every way1 for so doth the sinner that hath a double tongue4 7,eccles4 v4 #i74 #aig ,prov4 xv4 #bg4 #aih ,prov4 xx4 #ba4 #aii ,prov4 xxviii4 #bj4 #bjj ,prov4 xxviii4 #bb4 #bja ,prov4 xxiii4 #d4 #bjb ,prov4 xxi4 #bf4 #bjc ,prov4 xi4 #bd1 #be4 #bjd ,prov4 xxviii4 #bg4 #bje ,prov4 xix4 #ag4 #bjf ,prov4 xxii4 #i4 #bjg ,prov4 xxx4 #h1 #i4 ,,xi4 ,,goodness4 ,the righteousness of the upright shall deliver them4--,,prov4 xi4 #f4 ,an unjust man is the abomination of the righteous1 and he who goes right in his way is the abomination of the wicked4--,,prov4 xxix4 #bg4 ,the book of ,proverbs abounds with sayings which have the sound of truisms1 sayings which repeat1 with innumerable variations and shades of colouring1 that wickedness is an evil1 hateful to ,god and to men1 and that righteousness is a blessing not only to the righteous themselves1 but to all with whom they are connected4 ,we are disposed to say1 ,surely no reasonable person can question such an obvious truth2 but on reflection we remember that the truth was not perceived by the great religions of antiquity1 is not recognised now by the vast majority of the human race1 and even where it is theoretically admitted without question is too frequently forgotten in the hurry and the pressure of practical life4 ,there is good reason therefore why the truism1 as we are inclined to call it1 should be thrown into the form of maxims which will find a hold in the memory1 and readily occur to the mind on occasions of trial4 ,and as we pass in review what ,proverbial ,religion has to say upon the subject1 we shall perhaps be surprised to find how imperfectly we have apprehended the supreme importance of goodness1 and how insidiously teachings1 which were originally meant to enforce it1 have usurped its place and treated it with contumely4 ,it will begin to dawn upon us that the truth is a truism1 not because it is carried out in practice1 but only because no one has the hardihood to question it2 and perhaps we shall receive some impulse towards transforming the conviction which we cannot dispute into a mode of conduct which we cannot decline4 ,to begin with1 our book is most unflinching in its assertions that1 notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary1 wickedness is a mistake1 a source of perpetual weakness and insecurity1 always in the long run producing ruin and death2 while righteousness is in itself a perpetual blessing1 and is weighted with beautiful and unexpected fruits4 ,the very reiteration becomes most impressive4 ,the hope of the righteous shall be gladness2 but the expectation of the wicked shall perish4#bjh ,the righteous shall never be removed1 but the wicked shall not dwell in the land4#bji ,the house of the wicked shall be overthrown1 but the tent of the upright shall flourish4#baj ,the wicked earneth deceitful wages1 but he that soweth righteousness hath a sure reward4#baa ,a man shall not be established by wickedness1 while the root of the righteous shall never be moved4#bab ,the wicked really falls by his own wickedness1 and is swept away by his own violence4#bac ,he sows iniquity and reaps calamity4#bad ,his crooked way1 his malignant thoughts1 the hatred against his neighbour1 the guile in his heart1 and the flood of evil things which comes out of his lips1 have one issue--destruction4#bae ,when he comes to die1 his expectation perishes1 all the hope of iniquity ends in disappointment4#baf ,his lamp goes out not to be relit4#bag ,meanwhile1 the light of the righteous man rejoices1 because he attains unto life as surely as the wicked works towards death4#bah ,it is true that the appearance of things is different4 ,hand joins in hand to promote evil4#bai ,men follow out what seems right in their own hearts1 evil as they are4#bbj ,success seems to attend them1 and one is tempted to envy the sinners1 and to fret at their ways4#bba ,but the envy is misplaced2 the evil man does not go unpunished2 the wicked are overthrown and are not4#bbb ,the way which seemed right in a man's eyes proves to be the way of death4#bbc ,a righteous man falleth seven times and riseth up again2 but the wicked are overthrown by calamity1#bbd and the righteous are obliged to look upon their fall4#bbe ,on the other hand1 goodness is its own continual reward4 ,while treacherous men are destroyed by their perverseness1 the upright are guided by their own integrity4#bbf ,while the sinner is overthrown by his wickedness1 righteousness guardeth him that is upright in the way4#bbg ,if the righteous gets into trouble he is delivered1 while the wicked falls into his place3#bbh there is a kind of substitution2 a ransom is paid to enable the righteous to escape1 and the ransom is the person of the wicked4#bbi ,not only does the righteous come out of trouble1#bcj but1 strictly speaking1 no mischief really happens to him2 it is only the wicked that is filled with evil4#bca ,the righteous eats to the satisfying of his own soul1 but the belly of the wicked shall want4#bcb ,the good man walks on a highway and so preserves his soul4#bcc ,mercy and truth shine upon him because he devises good4#bcd ,he only followed after righteousness and mercy1 but he found life1 righteousness1 and honour4#bce ,his heart is flooded with joy1 he actually sings as he journeys on4#bcf ,he seems like a tree in the green leaf1 a tree of life1 the fruits of which cannot fail to be attractive2 so that he unconsciously wins favour4#bcg ,the fruit does not fail1 because the root is alive4#bch ,and if in actual life this blessedness of the good man does not appear1 if by reason of the evil in the world the righteous seem to be punished1 and the noble to be smitten1#bci that only creates a conviction that the fruit will grow in another life2 for when we have closely observed the inseparable connection between goodness and blessedness1 we cannot avoid the conviction that the righteous hath hope in his death4#bdj ,yes1 practical goodness is the source of perpetual blessing1 and it cannot be altogether hidden4 ,even a child maketh himself known by his doings1 whether his work be pure and right4#bda ,to the good we must assign the supremacy2 the evil must bow before them and wait at their gates4#bdb ,and it is easy to understand why it appears so incongruous--so abnormal1 like a troubled fountain and a corrupted spring1 when the righteous give way to the wicked4#bdc ,nor is the blessing of goodness at all limited to the good man himself4 ,it falls on his children too4 ,a just man that walketh in his integrity1 blessed are his children after him4#bdd ,it reaches even to the third generation4 ,a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children4#bde ,the righteous is a guide to his neighbour also4#bdf ,he is a joy to his sovereign2 he that loveth pureness of heart1 for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend4#bdg ,his character and his well-being are a matter of public1 even of national concern1 for there is something winning in him2 he acts as a saving influence upon those who are around him4#bdh ,therefore1 when the righteous increase the people rejoice1#bdi when they triumph there is great glory4#bej ,when it goeth well with the righteous the city rejoiceth1 just as when the wicked perish there is shouting4 ,by the blessing of the upright the city is exalted1 just as it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked4#bea ,yes1 righteousness exalteth a nation1 while sin is a reproach to the whole people4#beb ,it is the grand public interest to see the wicked perish in order that the righteous may increase3#bec for the way of the wicked causes other people to err4#bed ,his lips are like a scorching fire2#bee his presence brings a general atmosphere of contempt1 ignominy1 and shame4#bef ,when the wicked rise men hide themselves1#beg when they bear rule the people sigh4#beh ,well may the national feeling be severe on all those who encourage the wicked in any way4 ,he that saith unto the wicked1 ,thou art righteous1 peoples shall curse him1 nations shall abhor him2 but to them that rebuke him shall be delight1 and a good blessing shall come upon them4#bei ,it is a sure sign that one is forsaking the law when one ceases to contend with the wicked and begins to praise them4#bfj ,blessing to himself1 blessing to his children1 his neighbours1 his country1 is the beautiful reward of the good man2 ruin to himself1 a spreading contagion of evil to others1 and general execration1 is the lot of the wicked4 ,well may the former be bold as a lion1 and well may the latter flee when no man pursues1 for conscience makes cowards of us all4#bfa ,but at present we have not touched on the chief blessedness of the good1 and the chief curse of the evil1 on that which is really the spring and fountain-head of all4 ,it is the great fact that ,god is with the righteous and against the wicked1 that ,he judges men according to their integrity or perverseness1 and accepts them or rejects them simply upon that principle4 ,by looking at this lofty truth we get all our conceptions on the subject cleared4 ,the perverse in heart are an abomination to the ,lord2 such as are perfect in their way are ,his delight4#bfb ,a good man shall obtain favour of the ,lord1 but a man of wicked devices will ,he condemn4#bfc ,evil devices are an abomination to the ,lord1#bfd and so is the wicked1 but ,he loveth the righteous4#bfe ,to justify the wicked or to condemn the righteous is equally abominable to ,him4#bff ,he considers the house of the wicked1 how the wicked are overthrown to their ruin4#bfg ,he overthrows the words of the treacherous man1 while ,his eyes preserve him that hath knowledge4#bfh ,he weighs the heart and keeps the soul and renders to every man according to his work4#bfi ,thus ,his way is a stronghold to the upright1 but a destruction to the workers of iniquity4#bgj ,he does not regard prayer so much as righteousness2 he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law1 even his prayer is an abomination4#bga ,sacrifice goes for nothing in ,his sight if the life is not holy4 ,to do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the ,lord than sacrifice4#bgb ,the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination3 how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind8#bgc ,yes1 it is an abomination to the ,lord1 just as the prayer of the upright is ,his delight4 ,the ,lord is far from the wicked1 but ,he heareth the prayer of the righteous4#bgd ,when the foolish sinner offers a sin-offering instead of relinquishing his sin1 the very offering mocks him1 for it is only the righteous who find favour with the ,lord4#bge ,it is this solemn truth1 the truth of ,god's own way of regarding goodness and wickedness1 which makes earnestness on the subject essential4 ,if goodness were only pleasing to man1 if sin were only an offence against creatures like ourselves1 ordinary prudence would require us to be good and to avoid evil1 but higher sanction would be wanting4 ,when1 however1 the matter is taken up into the ,divine presence1 and we begin to understand that the ,supreme ,ruler of all things loves righteousness and hates iniquity1 visits the one with favour and the other with reprobation1 quite a new sanction is introduced4 ,the wicked man1 who makes light of evil1 to whom it is as a sport1 appears to be nothing short of an absolute fool4#bgf ,in ,god's presence it is not difficult to perceive that goodness is wisdom1 the only wisdom1 the perfect wisdom4 ,but now it may occur to some of us that it is surely nothing very wonderful to lay this stress upon the close connection between goodness and ,god-pleasing4 ,is it not1 we are inclined to say1 the most obvious and unquestioned of facts that ,god requires goodness at our hands1 and is angry with the wicked every day8 ,it is not very wonderful to us1 because ,revelation has made it familiar1 but none the less it is a truth of ,revelation1 and if we were to ask in what the ,inspiration of this book consists1 no simpler and truer answer could be given than that it teaches1 as we have just seen1 the alliance of ,god with righteousness and the abhorrence in which ,he holds wickedness4 ,yes1 a truism1 but it was a discovery which the world was very slow to make1 and it is still a principle on which the world is very unwilling to act4 ,the main characteristic of all heathen religions is that their gods do not demand righteousness1 but certain outward and formal observances2 sacrifices must be offered to them1 their vindictive temper must be propitiated1 their anger averted2 if the dues of the gods are paid1 the stipulated quantity of corn and wine and oil1 the tithes1 the firstfruits1 the animals for the altar1 the tribute for the temple1 then the worshipper who has thus discharged his obligations may feel himself free to follow out his own tastes and inclinations4 ,in the ,roman religion1 for example1 every dealing with the gods was a strictly legal contract2 the ,roman general agreed with ,jupiter or with ,mars that if the battle should be won a temple should be built4 ,it was not necessary that the cause should be right1 or that the general should be good2 the sacrifice of the wicked1 though offered with an evil intent1 was as valid as the sacrifice of the good4 ,in either case the same amount of marble and stone1 of silver and gold1 would come to the god4 ,in the ,eastern religions not only were goodness and righteousness dissociated from the idea of the gods1 but evil of the grossest kinds was definitely associated with them4 ,the ,phnician deities1 like those of the ,hindoos1 were actually worshipped with rites of murder and lust4 ,every vice had its patron god or goddess1 and it was forgotten by priest and people that goodness could be the way of pleasing ,god1 or moral evil a cause of offence to ,him4 ,even in ,israel1 where the teaching of ,revelation was current in the proverbs of the people1 the practice generally followed the heathen conceptions4 ,all the burning protests of the inspired prophets could not avail to convince the ,israelite that what ,god required was not sacrifice and offering1 but to do justice1 to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with ,him4 ,again and again we find that the high places were frequented and the ritual supported by men who were sensual1 unjust1 and cruel4 ,the ,sabbath ,day was kept1 the feasts were duly observed1 the priests were handsomely maintained1 and there1 it was supposed1 the legitimate claims of ,jehovah ceased4 ,what more could ,he desire8 ,this is surely the most impressive proof that the ,truth which is under consideration is far from being obvious4 ,israel himself1 the chosen channel for communicating this truth to the world1 was so slow to understand and to grasp it1 that his religious observances were constantly degenerating into lifeless ceremonies devoid of all moral significance1 and his religious teachers were mainly occupied in denouncing his conduct as wholly inconsistent with the truth4 ,so far from treating the truth as a truism1 our ,lord in all ,his teaching laboured to bring it out in greater clearness1 and to set it in the forefront of ,his message to men4 ,he made it the very keynote of the ,gospel that not every one who says1 ,lord1 ,lord1 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven1 but he that doeth the will of ,his ,father in heaven4 ,he painted with exquisite simplicity and clearness the right life1 the conduct which ,god requires of us1 and then likened every one who practised this life to a man who builds his house on a rock1 and every one who does not practise it to a man who builds his house on the sand4 ,he declared1 in the spirit of all that we have just read from the book of ,proverbs1 that teachers were to be judged by their fruits1 and that ,god would estimate our lives not by what we professed to do1 but by what we did2 and ,he took up the very language of the book in declaring that every man should be judged according to his works4#bgg ,in every word ,he spoke ,he made it plain that goodness is what ,god loves1 and that wickedness is what ,he judges and destroys4 ,in the same way every one of the ,apostles insists on this truth with a new earnestness4 ,st4 ,john more especially reiterates it1 in words which sound even more like a truism than the sayings of this book3 ,he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as ,he is righteous2 and1 ,if ye know that ,he is righteous1 ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of ,him4#bgh ,the ,gospel itself is accompanied by a new and more earnest assertion of this cardinal truth1 that ,god loves goodness1 and that ,he judges men according to their works4 ,and even now1 after many centuries of ,christian faith1 and notwithstanding all the teachings of the ,bible and the witness of the ,spirit1 it is very difficult for many of us to understand that religion is goodness1 and religion without goodness is impiety of the worst kind4 ,it is supposed by some1 in face of all the accumulated truth and wisdom of the ages which have passed since this book was written1 that ,god's last and highest message is a dispensation from practical righteousness--that the ,gospel of ,grace means ,god's willingness to accept men because they believe1 apart from the actual goodness to which all faith is calculated to lead2 as if the ,gospel were an announcement that ,god had entirely changed ,his nature1 and that all the best and noblest teachings of ,his ,spirit in the past were set aside by ,his final revelation4 ,behind some figment or other1 some perverted notion of imputed righteousness1 men try to hide their guilty countenance1 and to persuade themselves that now1 in virtue of the ,cross1 they can see ,god without holiness1 without purity of heart4 ,heaven has been treated as a place where men can enter who work abomination and make a lie2 and in order to secure a full acceptance for our dogma we try to depreciate goodness as if it were a thing of little worth1 and even come to look with some suspicion on those who are only good--only moral1 ,i think we call it--and do not hold our own views of speculative truth4 ,meanwhile religious teachers tell the wicked they are righteous1 and earn the curse of the nation1 because they thereby enable men to be hard and cruel and unjust and selfish and proud and contemptuous1 and yet to esteem themselves as justified by faith4 ,others justify the wicked1 accepting a verbal profession in place of a virtuous practice2 and that1 as we have seen1 is abominable to the ,lord4 ,justification by faith loses all its meaning and all its value unless it is fully admitted that to be just is the great end and aim of religion4 ,salvation becomes a delusion unless it is perceived that it means righteousness4 ,heaven1 and the saints' everlasting rest1 become worthless and misleading ideas unless we recognise that it is the abode of goodness1 and that saints are not1 as we sometimes seem to imply1 bad people regarded as holy by a legal fiction1 but people who are made good and are actually holy4 ,strong as the language of our book is upon the subject1 it is not possible to bring out in mere proverbial sayings the eternal necessity of this great truth4 ,goodness and blessedness are actually identical1 the reverse and the obverse sides of the same coin4 ,if a man is made good he is made blessed2 but if he is made blessed to all appearance1 and not good1 the blessedness proves to be an illusion4 ,it could not possibly avail to be justified by faith1 unless we were made just by faith2 a sore body is not healed by covering it up1 a dead man is not quickened by a smiling mask4 ,there have been many people who counted themselves the elect1 and made no question that they were saved1 though they remained all the time inwardly wicked2 they were miserable1 sour1 discontented1 censorious1 a burden to themselves1 an eyesore to others2 they were persuaded that they would be happy in heaven1 and they supposed that their constant wretchedness was due to their being pilgrims in a strange land2 but the fact was they would be more wretched still in heaven1 for nowhere is evil such a curse as in a place where good prevails2 their misery arose from their own wicked hearts1 and in the next world1 their hearts still being wicked1 their misery must continue and increase4 ,may ,god grant us a clear vision in this matter1 that we may see the due relation of things6 ,goodness is the principal thing--for it faith itself and all religion exists4 ,god is goodness--man is evil2 what ,god means by saving us is to make us good like ,himself4 ,that we must be saved by faith means that we must be made good by faith1 not that we must take faith in place of goodness4 ,that righteousness is imputed to us by the goodness of ,god means that the goodness of ,christ is reckoned as ours for the purpose of making us good1 not in order to spare us the necessity of being good4 ,and in this way1 and this only1 we must estimate one another4 ,what a man believes in his heart we can never fully know2 but whether he is good or not is a matter plain as the day4 ,it is easy to bandy words of reproach1 to call men unbelievers1 sceptics1 atheists2 but there is only one wise way of speaking and thinking4 ,if we see goodness1 let us thank ,god1 for there1 be sure1 ,his ,spirit is2#bgi if we see the lovely graces which shine in our ,lord ,jesus ,christ gleaming1 however fitfully1 in our fellow-men1 let us recognise ,christ there4 ,and where we see wickedness1 let no consideration of outward ,christian profession or orthodoxy of belief restrain us from fully recognising that it is evil1 or from courageously contending against it4 ,,footnotes3 #bjh ,prov4 x4 #bh4 #bji ,prov4 x4 #cj4 #baj ,prov4 xiv4 #aa4 ,cf4 ,prov4 xii4 #g3 ,overthrow the wicked2 and they are not 7i4e41 there is no rising again for them71 but the house of the righteous shall stand4 #baa ,prov4 xi4 #ah4 #bab ,prov4 xiii4 #c4 #bac ,prov4 xi4 #e1 #f2 xxi4 #g4 #bad ,prov4 xxii4 #h4 #bae ,prov4 xxi4 #g1 #h1 #aj1 #ae2 xxvi4 #bd1 #bf2 xv4 #bh4 #baf ,prov4 xi4 #g4 #bag ,prov4 xiii4 #i2 xxiv4 #bj4 #bah ,prov4 xi4 #ai4 #bai ,prov4 xi4 #ba4 #bbj ,prov4 xiv4 #ab2 xvi4 #e1 #be2 xxi4 #b4 #bba ,prov4 xxiii4 #ag1 #ah2 xxiv4 #a1 #ai4 #bbb ,prov4 xii4 #g4 #bbc ,prov4 xiv4 #ab2 xvi4 #be4 #bbd ,prov4 xxiv4 #ae1 #af4 #bbe ,prov4 xxix4 #af4 #bbf ,prov4 xi4 #c4 #bbg ,prov4 xiii4 #f4 ,cf4 ,prov4 xiv4 #ad3 ,the backslider in heart shall be sated from his own ways1 and the good man from himself4 ,though probably we ought to read1 with ,nowack1 1 which would give a completer parallelism3 ,the backslider shall be sated from his own ways1 and the good man from his own doings4 #bbh ,prov4 xi4 #h4 ,cf4 ,prov4 xxviii4 #ah4 #bbi ,prov4 xxi4 #ah4 #bcj ,prov4 xii4 #ac4 #bca ,prov4 xii4 #ba4 #bcb ,prov4 xiii4 #be4 #bcc ,prov4 xvi4 #ag2 xix4 #af4 #bcd ,prov4 xiv4 #bb4 #bce ,prov4 xxi4 #ba4 #bcf ,prov4 xxi4 #ae2 xxix4 #f4 ,unless1 with ,delitzsch1 we are to read for 1 and for 1 which would give3 ,in the steps of a bad man lie snares1 but the righteous runs and rejoices4 #bcg ,prov4 xi4 #bg1 #cj4 #bch ,prov4 xii4 #ab4 #bci ,prov4 xvii4 #bf3 ,to punish the righteous is not good1 nor to smite the noble for their uprightness4 #bdj ,prov4 xiv4 #cb4 #bda ,prov4 xx4 #aa4 #bdb ,prov4 xiv4 #ai4 #bdc ,prov4 xxv4 #bf4 #bdd ,prov4 xiv4 #bf3 ,in the fear of the ,lord is strong confidence3 and his children shall have a place of refuge4 ,so ,prov4 xx4 #g3 ,a just man that walketh in his integrity3 blessed are his children after him4 #bde ,prov4 xiii4 #bb4 #bdf ,prov4 xii4 #bf4 #bdg ,prov4 xxii4 #aa4 ,cf4 ,prov4 xvi4 #ac4 #bdh ,prov4 xi4 #ca4 #bdi ,prov4 xxix4 #b4 #bej ,prov4 xxviii4 #ab4 #bea ,prov4 xi4 #aj1 #aa4 #beb ,prov4 xiv4 #cd4 #bec ,prov4 xxviii4 #bh4 #bed ,prov4 xii4 #bf4 #bee ,prov4 xvi4 #bg4 #bef ,prov4 xviii4 #c4 #beg ,prov4 xxviii4 #bh4 #beh ,prov4 xxix4 #b4 #bei ,prov4 xxiv4 #bd1 #be4 #bfj ,prov4 xxviii4 #d4 #bfa ,prov4 xxviii4 #a4 #bfb ,prov4 xi4 #bj4 #bfc ,prov4 xii4 #b4 #bfd ,prov4 xv4 #bf4 #bfe ,prov4 xv4 #i4 #bff ,prov4 xvii4 #ae1 #bf2 xviii4 #e4 #bfg ,prov4 xxi4 #ab1 where one that is righteous seems to mean ,god ,himself2 see the margin of ,r4,v4 #bfh ,prov4 xxii4 #ab4 #bfi ,prov4 xxiv4 #ab4 #bgj ,prov4 x4 #bi4 #bga ,prov4 xxviii4 #i4 #bgb ,prov4 xxi4 #c4 #bgc ,prov4 xxi4 #bg4 #bgd ,prov4 xv4 #h1 #bi4 #bge ,prov4 xiv4 #i4 ,this seems to be the meaning of this difficult verse1 which should be translated3 ,the sin-offering mocks fools1 but among the righteous is favour4 #bgf ,prov4 x4 #bc4 #bgg ,matt4 xvi4 #bg4 #bgh #a ,john iii4 #g1 #aj2 ii4 #bi4 #bgi ,if ye know that ,he is righteous1 says ,st4 ,john1 ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of ,him4 7#a ,john ii4 #bi74 ,,xii4 ,,the ,,tongue4 ,a man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his ,,mouth3 and the doings of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him4--,,prov4 xii4 #ad4 ,in the transgression of the ,,lips is a snare to an evil man3 but the righteous shall come out of trouble4--,,prov4 xii4 #ac4 ,a fool's vexation is ,,presently ,,known3 but a prudent man concealeth shame4--,,prov4 xii4 #af4 ,he that uttereth truth ,,showeth ,,forth righteousness1 but a false witness deceit4--,,prov4 xii4 #ag4 ,the ,,lip of truth shall be established for ever3 but a lying ,,tongue is but for a moment4--,,prov4 xii4 #ai4 ,lying ,,lips are an abomination unto the ,lord3 but they that deal truly are ,his delight4--,,prov4 xii4 #bb4 ,there is that ,,speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword3 but the ,,tongue of the wise is health4--,,prov4 xii4 #ah4 ,a prudent man ,,concealeth knowledge3 but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness4--,,prov4 xii4 #bc4 ,the ,,words of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood3 but the ,,mouth of the upright shall deliver them4--,,prov4 xii4 #f4 ,heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop2 but a good ,,word maketh it glad4--,,prov4 xii4 #be4 ,there is nothing which seems more insubstantial than speech1 a mere vibration in the atmosphere which touches the nerves of hearing and then dies away4 ,there is no organ which seems smaller and less considerable than the tongue2 a little member which is not even seen1 and1 physically speaking1 soft and weak4 ,but the word which issues out of the lips is the greatest power in human life4 ,that soft tongue breaketh the bone4#bhj ,words will change the currents of life3 look for instance at a great orator addressing his audience2 how miraculous must it seem to a deaf man watching the speaker that the quiet opening of a mouth should be able to produce such powerful effects upon the faces1 the movements1 the conduct of the listeners6 ,we are coming to consider the importance of this diminutive organ1 the ill uses and the good uses to which it may be turned1 and the consequent necessity of fitly directly and restraining it4 ,on the use of the tongue depend the issues of a man's own life4 ,it may be regarded as a tree which bears fruits of different kinds1 and such fruits as his tongue bears a man must eat4 ,if his words have been good1 then he shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth4#bha ,a man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth1 with the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied4#bhb ,the fruits which grow on this tongue-tree are death and life--the tongue produces them--and he that loves the tree shall according to his love eat the one fruit or the other2 if he loves death-bearing speech he shall eat death2 if he loves life-bearing speech he shall eat life4#bhc ,so deadly may be the fruit of the tongue that the mouth of the fool is regarded as a present destruction4#bhd ,so wholesome may be the fruit of the tongue that the tongue of the wise may be actually denominated health4#bhe ,in the case of the fool it is always very obvious how powerfully the tongue affects the condition of the speaker4 ,his lips are always coming into strife1 and his mouth is always calling for stripes4 ,it is his destruction1 and his lips are the snare of his soul4#bhf ,in the transgression of the lips always lies the snare for the evil man3 ultimately all men are in effect condemned out of their own mouths4#bhg ,the tongue proves to be a rod for the back of the proud and foolish owner of it1 while the good man's tongue is a constant life-preserver4#bhh ,as an old proverb says1 a fool's tongue is always long enough to cut his own throat4 ,on the other hand1 where the tongue is wisely used it always brings back joy to the speaker in the end4#bhi ,thus whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles1#bij but the man who does not take the pains to hear1 but gives his testimony falsely1 shall perish4#bia ,while the use of the tongue thus recoils on the speaker for good or for evil1 it has a wide influence also on others4 ,he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief1#bib but when speech is good1 and such as it ought to be1 the words of a man's mouth are like deep waters1 a gushing brook1 a well of wisdom4#bic ,thus it is of vast and obvious importance how we use our tongue4 ,if our speech is gracious we shall win the friendship of the king1#bid and it is a pleasant thing if we keep the words of the wise within us and if they be established together upon our lips4#bie ,it is better for us to be poor than perverse or untruthful in our speech4#bif ,our teacher1 especially our ,divine ,lord1 will rejoice inwardly and deeply when our lips speak right things4#big ,we are now cautioned against some of the evil purposes to which the tongue may be turned1 and as all the heads of evil are passed in review we realize why ,st4 ,james spoke of the tongue as the world of iniquity 7iii4 #f72 and how profound was our ,lord's teaching that out of the mouth proceed the things which defile a man 7,matt4 xv4 #ah74 ,first of all1 the tongue is a fruitful source of ,quarrelling and discord4 ,a fool cannot hide his vexation1 but must immediately blurt it out with the tongue4#bih ,when he is angry he must utter it all at once1#bii though a wise man would keep it back and still it1 so concealing shame4 ,no one is more certain to come to grief than he who provokes with words4#cjj ,these irritating taunts and threats are like coals to hot embers1 and wood to fire2#cja in their absence the contention would quickly die out4 ,it is therefore the wise counsel of ,agur to one who has done foolishly in exalting himself1 or has even entertained for a moment the arrogant or quarrelsome thought1 ,hand on thy mouth6 for speech under such circumstances produces strife as surely as churning produces butter from milk1 or a blow on the nose blood4#cjb ,rash1 inconsiderate1 angry words are like the piercings of a sword4#cjc ,if only our wrathful spirit made us immediately dumb1 anger would never go far1 it would die out as a conflagration dies when there is no wind to fan the flames4 ,but again1 the tongue is the instrument of ,lying2 one of its worst disservices to man is that when it is well balanced1 so that it easily wags1 it often betrays him into untruths which his heart never contemplated nor even approved4 ,it is the tongue which by false witness so often condemns the innocent4#cjd ,a worthless witness mocketh at judgment2 and the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity4#cje ,and though such a witness shall not in the long run go unpunished1 nor shall the liar escape1#cjf yet1 as experience shows1 he may have brought ruin or calamity on others before vengeance falls upon him4 ,the false witness shall perish1#cjg but often not before he has like a mace or a hammer bruised and like a sword or a sharp arrow pierced his unfortunate neighbour4#cjh ,it is the tongue which glozes over the purposes of hate1 and lulls the victim into a false security2 the fervent lips and the wicked heart are like a silver lining spread over an earthen vessel to make it look like silver2 the hatred is cunningly concealed1 the seven abominations in the heart are hidden2 the pit which is being dug and the stone which is to overwhelm the innocent are kept secret by the facile talk and flatteries of the tongue2 the more the tongue lies in its guileful machinations the more the heart hates the victims of its spite4#cji ,a righteous man hates lying1 but the wicked1 by his lies1 brings disgrace and shame4#caj ,the lie often appears to prosper for a moment1#caa but happily it is an abomination to the ,lord1#cab and in ,his righteous ordering of events he makes the falsehood which was as bread1 and sweet to the lips1 into gravel which breaks the teeth in the mouth4#cac ,the curse which is causeless is frustrated1 and so also is the empty lie2 it wanders without rest1 without limit1 like a sparrow or a swallow4#cad ,closely allied to lying is ,flattery2 and to this vile use the tongue is often put4 ,flattery is always a mistake4 ,it does not attain its end in winning the favour of the flattered2 for in the long run he that rebuketh a man shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue4#cae ,if it is believed1 as often unfortunately it is1 it proves to be a net spread in the path1 which may trip up1 and may even capture and destroy1 the unwary walker4#caf ,another evil use of the tongue is for ,whispering and tale-bearing4 ,he that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets--he is not to be trusted1 it is better to have nothing to do with him4 ,disclosing the secret of another is a sure way of incurring reproach and lasting infamy4 ,such a habit is a fruitful source of rage and indignation1 it brings black wrath to the countenance of him whose secret has been published1 just as a north wind spreads the rain clouds over the sky4#cag ,the temptation to tattling is great2 the business of a gossip brings an immediate reward2 for the corrupt heart of man delights in scandal as an epicure in tit-bits3 ,the words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels which go down into the chamber of the belly4#cah ,but what mischief they do6 ,they separate bosom friends1 sowing suspicion and distrust4#cai ,where there is already a little misunderstanding1 the whisperer supplies wood to the fire and keeps it burning2 apart from him it would soon die out4#cbj ,but if he thinks there is any prospect of a reconciliation he will be constantly harping on the matter2 one who seeks love would try to hide the transgression1 but the scandalmonger is a foe to love and the unfailing author of enmity4#cba ,but there is ,mischief1 more deliberate and more malignant still1 which the tongue is employed to plot1 to plan and to execute4 ,with his mouth the godless man destroyeth his neighbour4#cbb ,the words of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood4#cbc ,the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things1#cbd blasphemies1 obscenities1 curses1 imprecations4 ,a froward man scattereth abroad strife4#cbe ,he deceives1 and in bitter raillery declares that he was only jesting2 he is like a madman casting firebrands1 arrows1 and death4#cbf ,we know what it is to hear a man pouring out foul1 abusive1 and impious language1 until the very atmosphere seems enflamed with firebrands1 and arrows fly hither and thither through the horrified air4 ,we know1 too1 what it is to hear the smooth and well-turned speech of the hypocrite and the impostor1 which seems to oppress the heart with a sense of decomposition2 righteousness1 truth1 and joy seem to wither away1 and in the choking suffocation of deceit and fraud life itself seems as if it must expire4 ,it is a relief to turn from those worst uses of the tongue to the more pardonable vices of ,rashness and ,inopportuneness of speech4 ,yet these too are evil enough in their way4 ,to pass a judgment before we are in possession of the facts1 and before we have taken the pains to carefully investigate and consider them1 is a sign of folly and a source of shame4#cbg ,so impressed is our teacher with the danger of ill-considered speech that he says1 ,seest thou a man that is hasty in his words8 there is more hope of a fool than of him4#cbh ,and even where the utterance of the tongue is in itself good it may be rendered evil by its untimeliness2 religious talk itself may be so introduced as to hinder the cause of religion2 pearls may be cast before swine3 ,speak not in the hearing of a fool1 for he will despise the wisdom of thy words4#cbi ,there must be some preparation of spirit before we can wisely introduce ,divine and heavenly things1 and circumstances must not be chosen which will tend to make the ,divine things seem mean and contemptible4 ,it may be good to rebuke an evildoer1 or to admonish a friend2 but if the opportunity is not fitting1 we may make the evildoer more evil1--we may alienate our friend without improving him4 ,considering then what mischief may be done with the tongue1 it is not to be wondered at that we are cautioned against excessive speech4 ,in the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression1 but he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely4#ccj ,he that guardeth his mouth keepeth his life2 who opens wide his lips gets destruction1 and a fool spreadeth out folly4#cca ,in all labour is profit1 the talk of the lips tends only to poverty4#ccb ,wisdom rests in the heart of the understanding1 but even in the inward part of fools all is blabbed4#ccc ,in the fool are no lips of knowledge because he is always talking4#ccd ,the tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright1 but the mouth of fools poureth out folly4#cce ,a fool hath no delight in understanding1 but only that his heart may reveal itself4#ccf ,one who is always pouring out talk is sure to be pouring out folly4 ,the wise man1 feeling that all his words must be tested and weighed1 is not able to talk very much4 ,when your money is all in copper1 you may afford to throw it about1 but when it is all in gold you have to be cautious4 ,a ,christian feels that for every idle word he utters he will have to give account1 and as none of his words are to be idle they must be comparatively few2 the word that kindles wrath1 the lie1 the whisper1 the slander1 can therefore find no place on his lips4 ,this brings us to the ,good and beautiful uses of the tongue1 those uses which justify us in calling the tongue of the wise ,health4#ccg ,first of all the tongue has the gracious power of soothing and restraining anger4 ,it is the readiest instrument of peace-making4 ,gentleness of speech allays great offences1#cch and by preventing quarrels1 disarming wrath1 and healing the wounds of the spirit1 it maintains its claim to be a tree of life4#cci ,if in the tumult of passion1 when fiery charges are made and grievous provocations are uttered1 the tongue can be held in firm restraint1 and made to give a soft answer1 the storm will subside1 the angry assailant will retire abashed1#cdj and the flaming arrows will be quenched in the buckler of meekness which opposes them4 ,nor is the tongue only defensive in such cases4 ,the pleasant words1 spoken out of a kindly and gentle nature1 have a purifying effect2#cda they cleanse away the defilements out of which the evil passions sprang2 they purge the diseased humours which produce the irritations of life2 they supply a sweet food to the poor hearts of men1 who are often contentious because they are hungry for sympathy and love4 ,pleasant words are as a honeycomb1 sweet to the soul1 health to the bones4#cdb ,they must be true words1 or they will not in the end be pleasant1 for1 as we have seen1 the sweet bread of falsehood turns to gravel in the mouth4 ,but what a different world this would become if we all spoke as many pleasant words as we honestly could1 and were not so painfully afraid of showing what tenderness and pity and healing actually exist in our hearts6 ,for another beautiful use of the tongue is to comfort the mourners1 of whom there are always so many in the world4 ,heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop4 ,there are these stooping1 bowed-down hearts everywhere around us4 ,we wish that we could remove the cause of sorrow1 that we could effectually change the conditions which seem unfavourable to joy2 but being unable to do this1 we often stand aloof and remain silent1 because we shrink from giving words without deeds1 pity without relief4 ,we forget that when the heart is heavy it is just a good word that maketh it glad4#cdc ,yes1 a word of genuine sympathy1 a word from the heart1--and in trouble no other word can be called good1--will often do more to revive the drooping spirit than the grosser gifts of material wealth4 ,a coin kindly given1 a present dictated by a heart-felt love1 may come as a spiritual blessing2 on the other hand1 money given without love is worthless1 and seldom earns so much as gratitude1 while a word in season1 how good it is6#cdd ,it is better than silver and gold2 the discouraged and despondent heart seems to be touched with the delicate finger of hope1 and to rise from the ashes and the dust with a new purpose and a new life4 ,it must1 of course1 be in season4 ,as vinegar upon nitre so is he that sings songs to a sad heart4#cde ,but the seasonable word1 spoken just at the right moment and just in the right tone1 brief and simple1 but comprehending and penetrating1 will often make the sad heart sing a song for itself4 ,great stress is to be laid on this seasonableness of speech1 whether the speech be for comfort or reproof4 ,a word fitly spoken1 or to preserve the image implied in the original1 a word that runs on its wheels in the just and inevitable groove1 is compared to a beautiful ornament consisting of golden apples set in an appropriate framework of silver filigree4#cdf ,in such an ornament the golden apples torn from their suitable foil would lose half their beauty1 and the silver setting without the apples would only suggest a void and a missing4 ,it is in the combination that the artistic value is to be found4 ,in the same way1 the wisest utterance spoken foolishly#cdg jars upon the hearers1 and misses the mark1 while a very simple saying1 a platitude in itself1 may by its setting become lovely and worthy4 ,the best sermon in a social gathering will seem out of place1 but how often can the ,christian man by some almost unobserved remark correct unseasonable levity1 rebuke unhallowed conversation1 and lead the minds of the company to nobler thoughts4 ,the timely word is better than the best sermon in such a case4 ,the use of the tongue in ,reproof is frequently referred to in these proverbs4 ,a wise reprover upon an obedient ear is compared to an earring of gold1 an ornament of fine gold4#cdh ,and rebuke is1 as we have seen1 preferred before flattery4#cdi ,but how wise we must be before our tongue can fitly discharge this function6 ,how humble must the heart be before it can instruct the tongue to speak at once with firmness and tenderness1 without a touch of the ,pharisee in its tone1 to the erring brother or the offending stranger6 ,a rebuke which springs not from love but from vanity1 not from self-forgetfulness but from self-righteousness1 will not be like an earring of gold1 but rather like an ornament of miserable tinsel chafing the ear1 the cause of gangrene1 a disfigurement as well as an injury4 ,but if we live in close communion with ,christ1 and daily receive ,his stern but tender rebukes into our own souls1 it is possible that we may be employed by ,him to deliver timely rebukes to our fellow-men4 ,there are two other noble uses of the tongue to which reference is constantly made in our book2 the ,instruction of the ignorant1 and the ,championship of the distressed4 ,with regard to the first1 we are told that the lips of the wise disperse knowledge1 while of course the heart of the foolish not being right cannot possibly impart rightness to others4#cej ,it is only the wise in heart that can claim the title of prudent1 but where that wisdom is the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning4#cea ,the heart of the wise instructeth his mouth and addeth learning to his lips4#ceb ,the lips of knowledge are compared to a precious vessel which is more valuable than gold or rubies4#cec ,to teach well requires earnest preparation1 the heart of the righteous studieth to answer4#ced ,but when the right answer to the pupil is discovered and given it is beautifully compared to a kiss on the lips4#cee ,but never is the tongue more divinely employed than in using its knowledge or its pleadings to deliver those who are in danger or distress4 ,through knowledge the righteous may often be delivered4#cef ,the mouth of the upright will deliver those against whom the wicked are plotting4#ceg ,it is a great prerogative of wise lips that they are able to preserve not themselves only but others4#ceh ,the true and faithful witness delivers souls4#cei ,it is this which gives to power its one great attraction for the good man4 ,the ruler1 the judge1 the person of social consideration or of large means is in the enviable position of being able to open his mouth for the dumb1 in the cause of all such as are left desolate1 to judge rightly and minister judgment to the poor and needy4#cfj ,the ,press--that great fourth estate--which represents for us the more extended use of the tongue in modern times1 illustrates in the most vivid way the service which can be rendered where speech is fit1 and also the injury that can be done where it is rash1 imprudent1 dishonest1 interested1 or unjust4 ,after thus reviewing some of the good uses of the tongue1 and observing how they depend on the state of the heart1#cfa we cannot help again laying stress on the need of a wise self-control in all that we say4 ,he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely4 ,a man of understanding holdeth his peace4#cfb ,he that spareth his words hath knowledge4#cfc ,even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise1 when he shutteth his lips he is prudent4#cfd ,if only the uninstructed and foolish person has sense enough to perceive that wisdom is too high for him he will not open his mouth in the gate1#cfe and so in listening he may learn4 ,of thine unspoken word thou art master1 says an ,indian proverb1 but thy spoken word is master of thee4 ,we are to be swift to hear1 but slow to speak3 we are to ponder all that we hear1 for it is only the simple that believes every word1 the prudent man looks well to his going4#cff ,as ,st4 ,james says1 summing up all the teaching that we have reviewed1 ,if any man thinketh himself to be religious1 while he bridleth not his tongue1 but deceiveth his heart1 this man's religion is vain4#cfg ,and now there is only one other point to be noticed1 but it is one of vast importance4 ,as we realize the immense power of the tongue and the great issues which depend on its right or wrong employment2 as we sum up all the evil which its tiny unobserved movements can accomplish1 and all the rich blessings which it is1 under right supervision1 capable of producing2 and as from personal experience we recognise how difficult it is to bridle the unruly member1 how difficult it is to check the double fountain so that it shall send forth sweet waters only1 and no bitter1 we may be awed into an almost absolute silence1 and be inclined to put away the talent of speech which our ,lord has given to us1 not daring to use it lest in using we should abuse it4 ,but here is the answer to our misgiving3 the plans and preparations of our hearts belong to us1 but the answer of the tongue is from the ,lord4#cfh ,this most uncontrollable organ of the body can be put under our ,lord's control4 ,he is able to give us a mouth and wisdom1 and to make our words not our own but the utterance of ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,there may be an ocean round our words which overflows and drowns them1 the encircling influences of ,god1 turning even our faultiest speech to good account1 neutralising all our falterings and blunderings1 and silencing our follies and perversities4 ,shall we not put our lips under our ,lord's control1 that the answer of our tongue may be from ,him8 ,while we seek daily to subject our hearts to ,him1 shall we not in a peculiar and a direct manner subject our tongues1 to ,him8 for while a subjected heart may keep the mouth from speaking evil1 if the tongue is to speak well and to be employed for all its noble uses it must be immediately moved by ,god1 our lips must be touched with a coal from the altar1 our speech must be chastened and purified1 inspired and impelled1 by ,him4 ,,footnotes3 #bhj ,prov4 xxv4 #ae4 #bha ,prov4 xiii4 #b4 #bhb ,prov4 xviii4 #bj4 #bhc ,prov4 xviii4 #ba4 #bhd ,prov4 x4 #ad4 #bhe ,prov4 xii4 #ah4 #bhf ,prov4 xviii4 #f1 #g4 #bhg ,prov4 xii4 #ac4 #bhh ,prov4 xiv4 #c4 #bhi ,prov4 xv4 #bc4 #bij ,prov4 xxi4 #bc4 #bia ,prov4 xxi4 #bh4 #bib ,prov4 xvii4 #bj4 #bic ,prov4 xviii4 #d4 #bid ,prov4 xxii4 #aa4 #bie ,prov4 xxii4 #ah4 #bif ,prov4 xix4 #a1 #bb4 #big ,prov4 xxiii4 #af4 #bih ,prov4 xii4 #af4 #bii ,prov4 xxix4 #aa4 #cjj ,prov4 xix4 #g4 ,all the ,proverbs in this selection are in the form of a distich4 ,this affords a fair presumption that this verse with its three clauses is mutilated2 and the presumption is confirmed by the fact that the third clause adds nothing of value1 even if it be intelligible at all1 to the sense4 ,there is good reason1 therefore1 for believing that this third clause is the half of a distich which has not been preserved in its integrity2 all the more because the ,,lxx4 have a complete proverb which runs thus3 1 4 ,he that does much evil is a craftsman of iniquity1 and he that uses provoking words shall not escape4 ,perhaps in the ,hebrew text which was before the ,greek translators appeared instead of 1 and instead of 4 #cja ,prov4 xxvi4 #ba4 #cjb ,prov4 xxx4 #cb1 #cc4 #cjc ,prov4 xii4 #ah4 #cjd ,prov4 xii4 #ag4 #cje ,prov4 xix4 #bh4 #cjf ,prov4 xix4 #e1 rep4 ver4 #i4 #cjg ,prov4 xxi4 #bh4 #cjh ,prov4 xxv4 #ah4 #cji ,prov4 xxvi4 #bc-bh4 #caj ,prov4 xiii4 #e4 #caa ,prov4 xii4 #ai4 #cab ,prov4 xii4 #bb4 #cac ,prov4 xx4 #ag4 #cad ,prov4 xxvi4 #b4 #cae ,prov4 xxviii4 #bc4 #caf ,prov4 xxix4 #e4 #cag ,prov4 xi4 #ac and xx4 #ai2 xxv4 #b1 #bc4 ,cf4 ,whoso discovereth secrets loseth his credit and shall never find friend to his mind 7,eccles4 xxvii4 #af74 #cah ,prov4 xviii4 #h1 rep4 xxvi4 #bb4 #cai ,prov4 xvi4 #bh4 #cbj ,prov4 xxvi4 #bj4 #cba ,prov4 xvii4 #i4 #cbb ,prov4 xi4 #i4 #cbc ,prov4 xii4 #f4 #cbd ,prov4 xv4 #bh4 #cbe ,prov4 xvi4 #bh4 #cbf ,prov4 xxvi4 #ah1 #ai4 #cbg ,prov4 xviii4 #ac4 #cbh ,prov4 xxix4 #bj4 #cbi ,prov4 xxiii4 #i4 #ccj ,prov4 x4 #ai4 #cca ,prov4 xiii4 #c1 #af4 #ccb ,prov4 xiv4 #bc4 #ccc ,prov4 xiv4 #cc4 #ccd ,prov4 xiv4 #g4 ,there is a quaint and pertinent passage in ,lyly's ,euphues3--,we may see the cunning and curious work of ,nature1 which hath barred and hedged nothing in so strongly as the tongue1 with two rowes of teeth1 and therewith two lips1 besides she hath placed it farre from the heart1 that it should not utter that which the heart had conceived2 this also should cause us to be silent1 seeinge those that use much talke1 though they speake truly1 are never beleeved4 #cce ,prov4 xv4 #b4 #ccf ,prov4 xviii4 #b4 #ccg ,prov4 xii4 #ah4 #cch ,eccl4 x4 #d4 #cci ,prov4 xv4 #d4 is best rendered here and in ,eccl4 x4 #d by gentleness4 ,it is just that quality of humility and submission and tranquillity which our ,lord blessed as meekness4 #cdj ,prov4 xv4 #a4 #cda ,prov4 xv4 #bf4 #cdb ,prov4 xvi4 #bd4 #cdc ,prov4 xii4 #be4 #cdd ,prov4 xv4 #bc4 #cde ,prov4 xxv4 #bj4 #cdf ,prov4 xxv4 #aa4 #cdg ,cf4 ,eccles4 xx4 #bj3 ,a wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool's mouth1 for he will not speak it in due season4 #cdh ,prov4 xxv4 #ab4 #cdi ,prov4 xxviii4 #bc4 #cej ,prov4 xv4 #g4 #cea ,prov4 xvi4 #ba4 #ceb ,prov4 xvi4 #bc4 #cec ,prov4 xx4 #ae4 #ced ,prov4 xv4 #bh4 #cee ,prov4 xxiv4 #bf4 #cef ,prov4 xi4 #i4 #ceg ,prov4 xii4 #f4 #ceh ,prov4 xiv4 #c4 #cei ,prov4 xiv4 #e1 #be4 #cfj ,prov4 xxxi4 #h1 #i4 #cfa ,note the intimate connection between conduct and speech in such a proverb as xvii4 #d4 ,when we do evil we are always ready to listen to evil talk1 when we talk deceitfully we are preparing to go on to worse deeds of evil1 to listen to tongues of destruction4 ,note1 too1 how in xii4 #e the thoughts and the counsels of the heart come before the words and the mouth in v4 #f4 #cfb ,prov4 xi4 #ab4 #cfc ,prov4 xvii4 #bg4 #cfd ,prov4 xvii4 #bh4 ,cf4 the old ,norse proverb3-- ,an unwise man when he comes among the people ,had best be silent3 no one knows ,that he nothing knows unless he talks too much4 #cfe ,prov4 xxiv4 #g4 #cff ,prov4 xiv4 #ae4 #cfg ,james i4 #bf4 #cfh ,prov4 xvi4 #a4 ,,xiii4 ,,pride ,,and ,,humility4 ,a wise son heareth his father's instruction1 but a scorner heareth not rebuke4--,,prov4 xiii4 #a4 ,poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth correction1 but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured4--,,prov4 xiii4 #ah4 ,by pride cometh only contention1 but with the well advised is wisdom4--,,prov4 xiii4 #aj4 ,whoso despiseth the word bringeth destruction on himself2 but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded4--,,prov4 xiii4 #ac4 ,this last proverb appears in another form1 as1 ,he that giveth heed unto the word shall find good1 and whoso trusteth in the ,lord happy is he4--,,prov4 xvi4 #bj4 ,by a proud man we mean one who esteems himself better than others2 by a humble man we mean one who counts others better than himself4 ,the proud man is so convinced of his intrinsic superiority that if appearances are against him1 if others obtain more recognition1 honour1 wealth than he1 the fault seems to him to lie in the evil constitution of the world1 which cannot recognize merit2 for his own intrinsic superiority is the axiom which is always to be taken for granted2 his neighbours therefore find no favour in his eyes1 and he even desires their calamity and ruin1 in order1 as he would put it1 that every one may be set in his due place4#cfi ,meanwhile he is always boasting of possessions1 dignities1 and gifts which do not yet1 but some day will1 appear to the public eye4 ,he is like clouds which overcast the sky1 and wind which frets the earth1 without bringing any wholesome rain4#cgj ,if1 on the other hand1 appearances are with him1 if wealth1 dignity1 and honour fall to his share1 he is affably convinced of his own supreme excellence2 the proof of his own conviction is written large in his broad acres1 his swelling dividends1 and his ever-increasing troops of flatterers and friends2 and he moves smoothly on to--what8--strange to say1 little as he thinks it1 to destruction1 for ,pride goeth before destruction1 and a haughty spirit before a fall4#cga ,if he only knew he would say1 ,better is it to be of a lowly spirit with the meek than to divide the spoil with the proud2#cga for before destruction the heart of man is haughty1 and before honour goeth humility4#cgb ,the event shows1 if not in this world1 yet the more surely in the next1 that it is well to let another man praise thee1 and not thine own mouth2 a stranger1 and not thine own lips4#cgc ,when our eyes are open to see things as they are1 we are no longer in the least impressed by the proud and haughty man whose name is scorner working in the arrogance of pride4#cgd ,we may not live to see it1 but we are quite persuaded that a man's pride shall bring him low1 but he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honour4#cge ,seest thou a man wise in his own conceit8 ,there is more hope of a fool than of him4#cgf ,now what are the evil effects of pride1 and what are the blessings that follow on humility8 ,first of all1 pride cuts a man off from all the salutary effects of reproof1 rebuke1 criticism1 and counsel1 without which it is not possible for any of us to become wise4 ,a wise son is the result of a father's correction1 says the text1 and such a son makes his father glad2#cgg but the pride in a child's heart will often prevent him from receiving even the correction of a father1 and will lead him to despise his mother4 ,and if the parents have not firmness and wisdom enough to overcome this childish resistance1 it will grow with years1 and prove more and more disastrous4 ,he is in the way of life that heedeth correction1 but he that forsaketh reproof erreth4#cgh ,if he had loved reproof he would have acquired knowledge1 but hating it he becomes brutish4#cgi ,it is evident then that this pride is folly4 ,he is a fool that despises his father's correction1 but he that regardeth reproof getteth prudence4#chj ,he that refuseth correction despiseth his own soul1 but he that hearkeneth to reproof getteth understanding4#cha ,when we are grown up1 and no longer under the tutelage of parents who love us1 pride is still more likely to harden our hearts against criticism and counsel4 ,the word of warning falls on the proud ear in vain1 just because it is the word of warning1 and often does the wilful heart mourn as it suffers the penalty of its stubbornness4#chb ,a man who refuses correction is a synonym for poverty and shame4#chc ,these words which we in our pride despise might be an incalculable benefit to us4 ,even the most witless criticism may be useful to a humble mind1 even the most unjust attacks may lead us to wholesome self-searching1 and to a more careful removal of possible offences4 ,while if the criticism is fair1 and prompted by a kind heart1 or if the rebuke is administered by one whose wisdom and justice we respect1 it is likely to do us far more good than praise and approval4 ,a rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding than a hundred stripes into a fool4#chd ,better is open rebuke than love that is hid4#che ,if we were wise we should value this plain and honest speaking much more than the insipid flattery which is often dictated by interested motives4#chf ,in fact1 praise is a very questionable benefit2 it is of no use at all unless we carefully test it1 and try it1 and accept it with the greatest caution1 for only a small part of it is pure metal1 most of it is mere dross2#chg and praise that is not deserved is the most dangerous and deleterious of delights4 ,but rebuke and criticism cannot do us much harm4 ,many great and noble men have been ruined by admiration and popularity1 who might have thriven1 growing greater and nobler1 in the fiercest and most relentless criticism4 ,donatello1 the great ,florentine sculptor1 went at one time of his life to ,padua1 where he was received with the utmost enthusiasm1 and loaded with approbation and honours4 ,but soon he declared his intention of returning to ,florence1 on the ground that the sharp assaults and the cutting criticisms which always assailed him in his native city were much more favourable to his art than the atmosphere of admiration and eulogy4 ,in this way he thought that he would be stimulated to greater efforts1 and ultimately attain to a surer reputation4 ,in the same spirit the greatest of modern art critics has told us how valuable to him were the criticisms which his humble ,italian servant made on his drawings4 ,certainly1 with those who allow themselves to be advised is wisdom4#chh ,he that trusteth in his own heart1 and cannot receive the advice of others1 is a fool2 but whoso walketh wisely he shall be delivered1 sometimes perhaps by the humble suggestions of very simple people4#chi ,yes1 with the lowly is wisdom3#cij they hearken to counsel1#cia and in doing so they get the advantage of many other wits1 while the proud man is confined strictly to his own1 and however great his capacity may be1 it is hardly probable that he will sum up all human wisdom in himself4 ,the lowly gives heed to the word1 no matter who speaks it1 and finds good2#cib he abides among the wise1 because he is always ready to learn2 consequently1 he becomes wise1 and eventually he gets the honour which he deserves4#cic ,it is in this way that people of lowly station and very moderate abilities often come to the front4 ,a servant that deals wisely has rule over a son that causes shame1 and has part in the inheritance among the brethren4#cid ,to a crafty son no good shall be1 but to a servant who is wise his actions shall prosper and his way be made straight4#cie ,the consciousness of not being clever1 and a wise diffidence in our own judgment1 will often make us very thankful to learn from others and save us from the follies of wilfulness2 and thus very much to their own astonishment the humble find that they have outdistanced their more brilliant competitors in the race1 and1 walking in their humility1 unexpectedly light upon recognition and admiration1 honour and love4 ,this first point1 then1 becomes very clear in the light of experience4 ,one of the most injurious effects of ,pride is to cut off its miserable victim from all the vast help and service which rebuke and criticism can render to the humble4 ,one of the sweetest results of a genuine humility is that it brings us to the feet of all wise teachers2 it multiplies lessons for us in all the objects which surround us2 it enables us to learn even from those who seem to be too captious to teach1 or too malevolent to be even wise4 ,the humble mind has all the wisdom of the ages as its possession1 and all the folly of fools as an invaluable warning4 ,secondly1 by pride comes nothing but strife1#cif and he loveth transgression that loveth strife2 he that raiseth high his gate1 i4e41 builds a lofty house1 seeketh destruction4#cig ,it is the pride of monarchs and nations which produces war2 the sense of personal dignity which is always sudden and quick in quarrel2 the feeling of swollen self-importance which is afraid to make peace lest it should suffer in the eyes of men4 ,and in the affairs of private life our pride1 rather than our sense of right1 usually creates1 fosters1 and embitters divisions1 alienations1 and quarrels4 ,i am perfectly innocent1 says ,pride2 ,i bear no resentment1 but it would be absurd for me to make the first advances2 when those advances are made1 ,i am willing to forgive and to forget4 ,i think ,i am innocent1 says ,humility1 but then ,i may have been very provoking1 and ,i may have given offence without knowing it2 in any case1 ,i may as well make an offer of apology2 if ,i fail1 ,i fail4 ,nor is this the only way in which strife grows out of pride1 for by pride comes nothing but strife4 ,all the foolish extravagances of social competition are to be traced to the same source4 ,one man raises high his gate1 builds a fine house1 and furnishes it in the best way4 ,he flatters himself that his little place is tolerably comfortable1 and he speaks with some contemptuous pity of all his neighbours' houses4 ,immediately all his neighbours enviously strive to excel him1 and pride vies with pride1 heartburnings are many and bitter4 ,then there comes on the scene one who in wealth and ostentation of wealth exceeds them all1 and the first man is now racked with envy1 strains every nerve to outdo the insolent intruder1 suffers his debts to far exceed his assets1 and soon incurs the inevitable crash4 ,that is how pride works in one very obvious department of social life4 ,but it is the same in every other department4 ,who can calculate the miseries which are produced by the grotesque assumptions of poor mortals to be superior to their fellow-mortals8 ,parents will mar their children's lives by refusing their consent to marriages with those who1 for some perfectly artificial reason1 are held to be beneath them2 or will still more fatally ruin their children's happiness by insisting on alliances with those who are held to be above them4 ,those who prosper in the world will heartlessly turn their backs on relations who have not prospered4 ,men who earn their living in one particular way1 or in no particular way1 will loftily contemn those who earn their living in another particular way4 ,those who dress in the fashion will look in another direction when they pass people who do not dress in the fashion1 though they may be under deep obligations to these slighted friends4 ,this is all the work of pride4 ,then there are the sneers1 the taunts1 the sarcasms1 the proud man's scorn1 like a rod in the mouth indeed1#cih which falls with cutting cruelty on many tender backs and gentle faces4 ,the overbearing temper of one who bears himself insolently and is confident#cii will sometimes take all the sweetness out of life for some delicate woman1 or shrinking child1 or humble dependent1 bruising the poor spirit1 rending the terrified heart1 unnerving and paralysing the weaker and more helpless nature4 ,from first to last this haughty spirit is a curse and a torment to everyone1 and not least to itself4 ,it is like a cold and biting wind4 ,it is like an erosive acid4 ,it produces more sorrows than the north wind produces icicles4 ,it mars more lives than anyone but ,god is able to count4 ,it breaks the hearts of the humble1 it excites the passions of the wrathful1 it corrupts the conduct of the weak4 ,it ruins children1 it poisons social life1 it inflames differences1 and plunges great nations into war4 ,if it were permitted to enter heaven1 it would turn heaven into hell1 it would range the hosts of heaven in envious cliques and mutually scornful castes1 it would make the meek spirit sigh for earth1 where there was at least the hope of death1 and would turn the very presence and power of ,god into a constant object of envy and an incentive to rebellion4 ,it is obvious1 then1 that pride cannot enter heaven1 and the proud man1 if he is to enter1 must humble himself as a little child4 ,third--and this leads us to contemplate the worst result of ,pride and the loveliest outcome of ,humility--,every one that is proud of heart is an abomination to the ,lord2 though hand join in hand he shall not be unpunished4#djj ,the ,lord will root up the house of the proud2 but ,he will establish the border of the widow4#dja ,in a word1 ,pride is hateful to ,god1 who resists the proud and gives grace to the humble4 ,the proud man1 whether he knows it or not1 comes into direct conflict with ,god3 he may not intend it1 but he is pitting himself against the ,omnipotent4 ,that hardening of the face is a sign of evil1 just as the patient humble ordering of the way is a sign of righteousness4#djb ,in that high look and proud heart there seems to be something dignified1 flashing1 and luminous2 it is undoubtedly much admired by men4 ,by ,god it is not admired2 it is regarded merely as the lamp of the wicked1 and as sin4#djc ,the light1 such as it is1 comes from hell2 it is the same light that burned on the faces of the apostate angels o'erwhelmed with floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire4 ,the proud man dares the thunderbolts of ,god4 ,he scorns men whom he sees1 and in doing so he scorns ,god whom he has not seen2 the men whom he consciously scorns cannot1 but the ,god whom he unwittingly scorns will1 take vengeance upon him4 ,he has hardened his heart1 he has grown great in his own eyes1 he has despised the creatures made in ,god's image2 he will suddenly be cut off1 and that without remedy4 ,on the other hand1 by humility men learn to know and to fear the ,lord4#djd ,god reveals ,himself to the humble heart1 not as a ,king of ,terrors1 but kind and good1 with healing in ,his wings1 leading the contrite spirit to implicit trust in ,himself1 and whoso trusteth in the ,lord1 happy is he4#dje ,when we realize this we cannot wonder that so few people seem to know ,god2 men are too proud2 they think of themselves more highly than they ought to think1 and consequently they do not think at all of ,him2 they receive honour one of another1 and eagerly desire such honour1 and consequently they cannot believe in ,him1 for to believe in ,him implies the desire of no honour except such as comes from ,him4 ,it is a strange truth that ,god should dwell in a human heart at all1 but it is almost self-evident that if ,he is to dwell in any human heart it must be in one which has been emptied of all pride1 one which has1 as it were1 thrown down all the barriers of self-importance1 and laid itself open to the incoming ,spirit4 ,if we cling to ever so little of our natural egotism2 if we dwell on any imagined excellence1 purity1 or power of our own2 if we are conscious of any elation1 any springing sense of merit1 which would set us1 in our own judgment1 on some equality with ,god1--how could the ,high and ,lofty ,one that inhabiteth ,eternity enter in8 ,that thought of vanity would seek to divide our nature with ,him1 would enter into negotiations for a joint occupation1 and the insulted ,spirit of ,god would depart4 ,if in ordinary human affairs before destruction the heart of man is haughty1 and before honour goeth humility2#djf if even in our dealings with one another happiness and success and prosperity depend on the cultivation of a modest spirit1 how much more when we come to deal with ,god must haughtiness appear the presage of destruction1 and humility the only way of approach to ,him6 ,it is not possible to think too humbly of yourself1 it is not possible to be too lowly1 you cannot abase yourself too much in ,his ,holy ,presence4 ,your only attitude is that of ,moses when he took off his shoes because the place he stood on was holy ground2 or that of ,isaiah when he cried out that he was a man of unclean lips4 ,to those who know you your humiliations may sound excessive1--as we are told the disciples of ,st4 ,francis remonstrated with him for his self-depreciation#djg--;but not to ,god or to your own heart4 ,and ,he1 if ,he has set ,his love upon you1 and purposes to make you a temple for ,his indwelling1 will use method after method of humbling you to prepare for ,his entrance4 ,again and again you will say1 ,surely now ,i am low enough1 am ,i not humbled in the dust8 ,but ,his hand will still be upon you1 and ,he will show you heads of pride which have yet to be levelled down4 ,in the last humbling you will find that there is rising within you a certain pride in the humility itself4 ,that also will ,he subdue4 ,and some day1 if you are willing1 you shall be lowly enough for the ,most ,high to dwell in1 humble enough to offer a perpetual incense of praise4 ,,footnotes3 #cfi ,prov4 xxi4 #aj4 #cgj ,prov4 xxv4 #ad4 #cga ,prov4 xvi4 #ah1 #ai4 #cgb ,prov4 xviii4 #ab4 #cgc ,prov4 xxvii4 #b4 #cgd ,prov4 xxi4 #bd4 #cge ,prov4 xxix4 #bc4 #cgf ,prov4 xxvi4 #ab4 #cgg ,prov4 xiii4 #a2 xv4 #bj4 #cgh ,prov4 x4 #ag4 #cgi ,prov4 xii4 #a4 #chj ,prov4 xv4 #h4 #cha ,prov4 xv4 #cb4 #chb ,prov4 xiii4 #ac should be translated3 ,whoso despiseth the word 7sc4 of warning and rebuke7 shall be under a pledge to it 7i4e4 he has contracted an obligation to the word by hearing it1 and in case of disobedience will have to redeem this implicit pledge by suffering and remorse71 but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded4 #chc ,prov4 xiii4 #ag4 #chd ,prov4 xvii4 #aj4 #che ,prov4 xxvii4 #e4 #chf ,prov4 xxviii4 #bc4 #chg ,prov4 xxvii4 #ba3 ,the fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold1 and a man for the mouth of his praise4 ,this somewhat obscure aphorism is most simply explained thus3--,a man should make his conscience a kind of furnace1 in which he tries all the laudatory things which are said of him1 accepting only the refined and pure metal which results from such a test1 and rejecting the dross4 ,this is simpler than1 with ,delitzsch1 to explain1 a man is tested by the praise which is bestowed upon him as silver and gold are tested in the fire4 #chh ,prov4 xiii4 #aj4 #chi ,prov4 xxviii4 #bf4 #cij ,prov4 xi4 #b4 #cia ,prov4 xii4 #ae;b4 #cib ,prov4 xvi4 #bj4 #cic ,prov4 xv4 #ca1 #cc4 #cid ,prov4 xvii4 #b4 #cie ,this is an addition of the ,,lxx4 to xiii4 #ac1 and may represent an original ,hebrew text4 ,for the idea cp4 ,eccles4 x4 #be1 ,unto the servant that is wise shall they that are free do service4 #cif ,prov4 xiii4 #aj4 #cig ,prov4 xvii4 #ai4 #cih ,prov4 xiv4 #c4 #cii ,prov4 xiv4 #af4 #djj ,prov4 xvi4 #e4 #dja ,prov4 xv4 #be4 #djb ,prov4 xxi4 #bi4 #djc ,prov4 xxi4 #d4 #djd ,prov4 xxii4 #d4 ,the probable rendering is1 ,the outcome of humility is the fear of the ,lord1 riches1 honour1 and life4 #dje ,prov4 xvi4 #bj4 #djf ,prov4 xviii4 #ab4 #djg ,the answer of the saint was very characteristic4 ,could he really believe that he was so vile as he said1 when he compared himself with others who were obviously worse8 ,ah1 he said1 it is when ,i recount all ,god's exceptional mercies to me that ,i seem to myself the worst of men1 for others have not had such favours at ,his hands4 ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,inward ,,unapproachable ,,life4 ,the heart knoweth its own bitterness1 and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy4--,,prov4 xiv4 #aj4 ,even in laughter the heart is sorrowful1 and the end of mirth is heaviness4--,,prov4 xiv4 #ac4 ,yes6 in the sea of life enisled1 ,with echoing straits between us thrown1 ,dotting the shoreless watery wild1 ,we mortal millions live alone4 ,the islands feel the enclasping flow1 ,and then their endless bounds they know4 ,,matthew ,,arnold4 ,we know each other's appearance1 it is true1 but there for the most part our mutual knowledge ceases4 ,some of us unveil nothing of ourselves to anyone2 some of us unveil a little to all2 some a good deal to a few2 but none of us can unveil all even to the most intimate friend4 ,it is possible to live on terms of complete confidence and even close intimacy with a person for many years1 to become thoroughly acquainted with his habits1 his turns of expression1 his modes of thought1 to be able to say with a certain infallibility what course he will take in such and such circumstances--and yet to find by some chance uplifting of a curtain in his life that he cherished feelings which you never even suspected1 suffered pains of which you had seen no trace1 and enjoyed pleasures which never came to any outward expression4 ,how true this is we realize at once if we turn inwards and review all the thoughts which chase each other through our brain1 and all the emotions which throb in our heart for a single day1 and then deduct those which are known to any human being1 known or even suspected2 the sum total we find is hardly affected at all4 ,we are quite startled to discover how absolutely alone we live1 how impossible it is for a stranger1 or even for an intimate friend1 to meddle with more than a fragment of our inner life4 ,this is not because we have any wish to conceal1 but rather because we are not able to reveal1 our silent unseen selves2 it is not because others would not like to know1 but because they have not the instruments to investigate1 that within us which we on our part are quite helpless to express4 ,for instance1 the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul1#djh yet no one can know how sweet but he who cherished the desire4 ,when a man has laboured for many years to secure an adequate maintenance for his family1 and at length finds himself in easy circumstances1 with his children growing up around him well and happy1 no one besides himself can in the least gauge the sense of satisfaction1 contentment1 and gratitude which animates his heart1 because no one can realize without actual experience the long and anxious days1 the sickening fears1 the blighted hopes1 the rigorous sacrifices1 through which he passed to attain his end4 ,or1 when an artist has been toiling for many years to realize upon canvas a vision of beauty which floats before the inward eye1 and at last succeeds1 by some happy combination of colours1 or by some dexterous sweep of the brush1 or by some half-inspired harmony of form and composition1 in actually bodying forth to the senses that which has haunted his imagination1 it is hopeless for any one else to understand the thrilling joy1 the light-hearted ecstasy1 which are hidden rather than expressed by the quiet flush on the cheek and the sparkling glance of the eye4 ,the mystical joy of a love which has just won an answering love2 the deep-toned joy of the mother in the dawning life of her child2 the joy of the poet who feels all the beauty of the earth and the sky pulsing through his nerves and raising his heart to quick intuitions and melodious numbers2 the joy of the student1 when the luminous outlines of truth begin to shape themselves before his mind in connected form and startling beauty2 the joy of one who has toiled for the restoration of lost souls1 and sees the fallen and degraded awaking to a new life1 cleansed1 radiant and strong2 the joy of the martyr of humanity1 whose dying moments are lit with visions1 and who hears through the mysterious silences of death the voices of those who will one day call him blessed1--joys like these may be described in words1 but they who experience them know that the words are1 relatively speaking1 meaningless1 and they who do not experience them can form no conception of them4 ,when the desire cometh it is a tree of life1#dji which suddenly springs up in the garden of the heart1 puts forth its jubilant leaves of healing1 flashes with white wings of scented blossom1 and droops with its full offering of golden fruit1 as if by magic1 and we are surprised ourselves that those around us do not see the wonder1 do not smell the perfume1 do not taste the fruit3 we alone can sit under its branches1 we alone can catch the murmur of the wind1 the music of achievement1 in its leaves4 ,but this thought becomes very pathetic when we think of the heart's bitterness1 which the heart alone can know1--the hope deferred which makes it sick1#daj the broken spirit which dries up the bones1#daa the spirit which for so long bore a man's infirmity1 and then at last broke because it could bear no more1 and became itself intolerable4#dab ,the circumstances of a man's life do not give us any clue to his sorrows2 the rich have troubles which to the poor would seem incredible1 and the poor have troubles which their poverty does not explain4 ,there are little constitutional ailments1 defects in the blood1 slight deformities1 unobserved disabilities1 which fill the heart with a bitterness untold and unimaginable4 ,there are crosses of the affections1 disappointments of the ambitions2 there are frets of the family1 worries of business2 there are the haunting ,furies of past indiscretions1 the pitiless reminders of half-forgotten pledges4 ,there are weary doubts and misgivings1 suspicions and fears1 which poison all inward peace1 and take light out of the eye and elasticity out of the step4 ,these things the heart knows1 but no one else knows4 ,what adds to the pathos is that these sorrows are often covered with laughter as with a veil1 and no one suspects that the end of all this apparently spontaneous mirth is to be heaviness4#dac ,the bright talker1 the merry jester1 the singer of the gay song1 goes home when the party separates1 and on his threshold he meets the veiled sorrow of his life1 and plunges into the chilly shadow in which his days are spent4 ,the bitterness which surges in our brother's heart would probably be unintelligible to us if he revealed it2 but he will not reveal it1 he cannot4 ,he will tell us some of his troubles1 many of them1 but the bitterness he must keep to himself4 ,how strange it seems6 ,here are men and women around us who are unfathomable2 the heart is a kind of infinite2 we skim the surface1 we cannot sound the depths4 ,here is a merry heart which makes a cheerful countenance1 but here is a countenance unclouded and smiling which covers a spirit quite broken4#dad ,here is a cheerful heart which enjoys a continual feast1#dae and finds in its own merriment a medicine for its troubles2#daf but we cannot find the secret of the cheerfulness1 or catch the tone of the merriment1 any more than we can comprehend what it is which is making all the days of the afflicted evil4#dag ,we are confined as it were to the superficial effects1 the lights and shadows which cross the face1 and the feelings which express themselves in the tones of the voice4 ,we can guess a little of what lies underneath1 but our guesses are as often wrong as right4 ,the index is disconnected1 perhaps purposely1 from the reality4 ,sometimes we know that a heart is bitter1 but do not even surmise the cause2 more often it is bitter and we do not know it4 ,we are veiled to one another2 we know our own troubles1 we feel our own joys1 that is all we can say4 ,and yet the strangest thing of all is that we hunger for sympathy2 we all want to see that light in the eyes of our friends which rejoices the heart1 and to hear those good things which make the bones fat4#dah ,our joy is eager to disclose itself1 and often shrinks back appalled to find that our companions did not understand it1 but mistook it for an affectation or an illusion4 ,our sorrow yearns for comprehension1 and is constantly doubled in quantity and intensity by finding that it cannot explain itself or become intelligible to others4 ,this rigid and necessary isolation of the human heart1 along with such a deep-rooted desire for sympathy1 is one of the most perplexing paradoxes of our nature2 and though we know well that it is a fact1 we are constantly re-discovering it with a fresh surprise4 ,forgetting it1 we assume that every one will know how we need sympathy1 though we have never hung out the signals of distress1 and have even presented a most repellent front to all advances2 forgetting it1 we give expression to our joy1 singing songs to heavy hearts1 and disturbing others by unseasonable mirth1 as if no icy channels separated us from our neighbours' hearts1 making our gladness seem frigid and our merriment discordant before it reaches their ears4 ,yes the paradox forces itself on our attention again2 human hearts are isolated1 alone1 without adequate communication1 and essentially uncommunicative1 yet all of them eagerly desiring to be understood1 to be searched1 to be fused4 ,is it a paradox which admits of any explanation8 ,let us see4 ,it has been very truly said1 ,man is only partially understood1 or pitied1 or loved by man2 but for the fulness of these things he must go to some far-off country4 ,in proportion as we are conscious of being misunderstood1 and of being quite unable to satisfy our longing for sympathy and comprehension at human fountains1 we are impelled by a spiritual instinct to ask for ,god2 the thought arises in us that ,he1 though ,he be very far off1 must1 as our ,creator1 understand us2 and as this thought takes possession of the heart a tremulous hope awakes that perhaps ,he is not very far off4 ,there lie before us now some beautiful sayings which are partly the expression of this human conviction1 and seem partly to be inspired by the ,divine response to it4 ,if thou sayest1 ,behold1 we knew not this man2 doth not ,he that weigheth the heart consider1 and he that keepeth the soul1 doth not ,he know8#dai ,the hearing ear1 and the seeing eye1 the ,lord hath made even both of them4#dbj ,how obvious is the inference that the ,maker of the ear and the eye hears those silent things which escape the ear itself1 and sees those recesses of the human heart which the human eye is never able to search6 ,the eyes of the ,lord are in every place1 keeping watch upon the evil and the good4#dba ,sheol and ,abaddon are before the ,lord3 how much more then the hearts of the children of men4#dbb ,he sees in the heart what the heart itself does not see4 ,all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes1 but the ,lord weigheth the spirits4#dbc ,in fact1 the spirit of man itself1 the consciousness which clears into self-consciousness1 and becomes in moral matters conscience1 this spirit1 is the lamp of the ,lord1 searching all the innermost parts of the belly1#dbd so that a man's goings are of the ,lord2 and he is often moved by this indwelling spirit and guided by this mysterious lamp in a way which he can hardly understand4#dbe ,this intimacy of knowledge is not without its most solemn1 and even terrible1 side4 ,it means of course that the ,lord knows the thoughts of the righteous which are just1 and the counsels of the wicked which are deceit4#dbf ,it means that out of ,his minute and infallible knowledge ,he will render to every man according to his works1 judging with faultless accuracy according to that desire of a man which is the measure of his kindness1 recognizing the wish of the poor man1 which1 though he has not power to perform it1 is more valuable than the boasted performances of those who never act up to their power of service4#dbg ,it means that the ,lord trieth the hearts just as the fining pot tries the silver1 and the furnace the gold4#dbh ,it means that in thought of such a searching eye1 such a comprehensive understanding on the part of the ,holy ,one1 none of us can ever say1 ,i have made my heart clean1 ,i am pure from my sin4#dbi ,all this it means1 and there must be some terror in the thought2 but the terror1 as we begin to understand1 becomes our greatest comfort2 for ,he who thus understands us is the ,holy ,one4 ,terrible would it be to be searched and known in this minute way by one who was not holy1 by one who was morally indifferent1 by one who took a curious interest in studying the pathology of the conscience1 or by one who had a malignant delight in cherishing vices and rewarding evil thoughts4 ,though we sometimes desire human sympathy in our corrupt passions and unhallowed desires1 and are eager for our confederates in sin to understand our pleasures and our pains1--and out of this desire1 it may be observed1 comes much of our base literature1 and all of our joining with a company to do evil1--yet after all we only desire this confederacy on the understanding that we can reveal as little1 and conceal as much1 as we like2 we should no longer be eager to share our feelings if we understood that in the first contact our whole heart would be laid bare1 and all the intricacies of our mind would be explored4 ,we must desire that ,he who is to search us through and through should be holy1 and even though ,he be strict to mark iniquity1 should be one who tries the heart in order to purify it4 ,and when we are awakened and understand1 we learn to rejoice exceedingly that ,he who comes with ,his lamp to search the inmost recesses of our nature is ,he who can by no means tolerate iniquity1 or pass over transgression1 but must burn as a mighty fire wherever ,he finds the fuel of sin to burn4 ,have we not found a solution of the paradox8 ,the human heart is isolated2 it longs for sympathy1 but cannot obtain it2 it seems to depend for its happiness on being comprehended1 but no fellow-creature can comprehend it2 it knows its own bitterness1 which no one else can know2 it broods over its own joys1 but no one can share them4 ,then it makes discovery of the truth that ,god can give it what it requires1 that ,he fully understands1 that ,he can enter into all these silent thoughts and unobserved emotions1 that ,he can offer an unfailing sympathy and a faultless comprehension4 ,in its need the lonely heart takes refuge in ,him1 and makes no murmur that ,his coming requires the searching1 the chastisement1 and the purging of sin4 ,no human being needs to be misunderstood or to suffer under the sense of misunderstanding4 ,let him turn at once to ,god4 ,it is childish to murmur against our fellows1 who only treat us as we treat them2 they do not comprehend us1 neither do we comprehend them2 they do not give us1 as we think1 our due1 neither do we give them theirs2 but ,god comprehends both them and us1 and ,he gives to them and to us accurately what is due4 ,no human being is compelled to bear his bitterness alone1 for though he cannot tell it or explain to his fellows1 he can tell it1 and he need not explain it1 to ,god4 ,is the bitterness an outcome of sin1 as most of our bitterness is8 ,is it the bitterness of a wounded egotism1 or of a remorseful conscience1 or of spiritual despondency8 ,or is it the bitterness which springs from the cravings of an unsatisfied heart1 the thirst for self-completeness1 the longing for a perfect love8 ,in either case ,god is perfectly able and willing to meet the need4 ,he delights to turn ,his knowledge of our nature to the purpose of cleansing and transforming the sinful heart3 ,by ,his knowledge shall ,my righteous servant justify many1 ,he says4 ,he is ready1 too1 to shed abroad ,his own rich love in our hearts1 leaving no room for the hankering desire1 and creating the peace of a complete fulfilment4 ,no human being need imagine that he is unappreciated2 his fellow-men may not want him1 but ,god does4 ,the ,lord hath made every thing for ,his own purpose1 yea1 even the wicked for the day of evil4#dcj ,he apprehends all that is good in your heart1 and will not suffer a grain of pure gold to be lost2 while ,he sees too every particle of evil1 and will not suffer it to continue4 ,he knows where the will is set upon righteousness1 where the desire is turned towards ,him1 and will delicately encourage the will1 and bountifully satisfy the desire4 ,he sees1 too1 when the will is hardened against ,him1 and the desire is set upon iniquity1 and ,he is mercifully resolved to visit the corrupt will and the evil desire with eternal destruction from the face of the ,lord1 and from the glory of ,his might1--mercifully1 ,i say1 for no torture could be more terrible and hopeless than for the evil man to live eternally in the presence of ,god4 ,finally1 no human being need be without a sharer of his joy3 and that is a great consideration1 for joy unshared quickly dies1 and is from the beginning haunted by a vague sense of a shadow that is falling upon it4 ,in the heart of the ,eternal dwells eternal joy4 ,all loveliness1 all sweetness1 all goodness1 all truth1 are the objects of ,his happy contemplation2 therefore every really joyful heart has an immediate sympathiser in ,god2 and prayer is quite as much the means by which we share our gladness as the vehicle by which we convey our sorrows to the ,divine heart4 ,is it not beautiful to think of all those timid and retiring human spirits1 who cherish sweet ecstasies1 and feel glowing exultations1 and are frequently caught up in heavenly raptures1 which the shy countenance and stammering tongue never could record8 ,they feel their hearts melt with joy in the prospect of broad skies and sunlit fields1 in the sound of morning birds and rushing streams2 they hear great choirs of happy spirits chanting perpetually in heaven and in earth1 and on every side of their obscure way open vistas of inspired vision4 ,no stranger meddles with their joy1 or even knows of it4 ,god is not a stranger2 to ,him they tell it all1 with ,him they share it1 and their joy is part of the joy of the ,eternal4 ,,footnotes3 #djh ,prov4 xiii4 #ai4 #dji ,prov4 xiii4 #ab4 #daj ,prov4 xiii4 #ab4 #daa ,prov4 xvii4 #bb4 #dab ,prov4 xviii4 #ad4 #dac ,prov4 xiv4 #ac4 #dad ,prov4 xv4 #ac4 #dae ,prov4 xv4 #ae;b4 #daf ,prov4 xvii4 #bb4 #dag ,prov4 xv4 #ae4 #dah ,prov4 xv4 #cj4 #dai ,prov4 xxiv4 #ab1 marginal reading4 #dbj ,prov4 xx4 #ab4 #dba ,prov4 xv4 #c4 #dbb ,prov4 xv4 #aa4 #dbc ,prov4 xvi4 #b1 rep4 xxi4 #b4 #dbd ,prov4 xx4 #bg4 #dbe ,prov4 xx4 #bd4 #dbf ,prov4 xii4 #e4 #dbg ,prov4 xix4 #bb4 #dbh ,prov4 xvii4 #c4 #dbi ,prov4 xx4 #i4 #dcj ,prov4 xvi4 #d4 ,this strange saying1 interpreted in the light of the ,gospel1 cannot mean that wicked people are actually made in order to exhibit the righteousness and judgment of ,god in their punishment on the day of wrath1 though that was probably the thought in the mind of the writer4 ,but it reminds us of the truth that every human being is a direct concern of the ,maker1 who has ,his own wise purpose to fulfil in even the most inconsiderable and apparently abortive life4 ,,xv4 ,a ,,passionate ,,disposition4 ,a soft answer turneth away wrath3 but a grievous word stirreth up anger4 ,in the ,,lxx4 there is another clause inserted at the beginning1 1 1 4--,,prov4 xv4 #a4 ,a meek tongue is a tree of life3 but perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit4--,,prov4 xv4 #d4 ,a wrathful man stirreth up contention3 but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife4--,,prov4 xv4 #ah4 ,bad temper causes more suffering than the modified severity with which we judge it would imply4 ,it is in a home what toothache is in the body3 the pain is insufferable and yet it is not treated as serious4 ,a passionate man or woman spreads a pervading sense of irritation in the house or in the workshop1 and all the other occupants of the place are as if they dwelt in a country subject to earthquakes2 life for them is divided between anxiety to avoid the explosion and a painful effort to repair its devastations4 ,we are not severe enough on these faults of temper in ourselves or in others2 we are too prone to excuse them on the ground of temperament1 as if we were no more responsible for outbreaks of passion than for the colour of our hair or the tone of our complexion4 ,it will1 therefore1 do us good to see what the ,wise ,man says on the subject4 ,first of all1 we have several proverbs which remind us how irritating an angry disposition is3 it is the constant occasion of strife2 it grows itself by each fresh annoyance that it gives1 so that it quickly becomes ungovernable1 and thus the wrathful man aboundeth in transgression4#dca ,a fierce ungovernable temper will set a whole city in a flame1#dcb and lead to disasters of national and even world-wide extent4 ,however peaceful and happy a community may be1 if a choleric man enters it1 signs of combustion will soon begin to appear4 ,there are always hot embers which wise men are earnestly trying to damp down1#dcb there are trivial irritations1 petty annoyances1 incipient envies1 which are only too easily inflamed2 the cool spirit and the conciliatory word and the ingenious diversion of thought will keep the embers choked until the heat dies away1 but as coals to hot embers1 and wood to fire1 so is a contentious man to inflame strife4#dcc ,we may well be cautioned to give such an inflammatory character a wide berth2 ,make no friendship with a man that is given to anger2 and with a wrathful man thou shalt not go3 lest thou learn his ways1 and get a snare to thy soul4#dcd ,even a sweet temper may be chafed into peevishness by constant irritations2 with passionate people the gentlest become passionate in self-defence4 ,when this unbridled1 ill-disciplined nature approaches1 we should avoid it as if it were a bear robbed of her whelps1 for such is this fool in his folly4#dce ,this leads us to notice that anger and folly are very closely allied4 ,the passionate nature is constantly betrayed into actions which sober wisdom must condemn1--,he that is soon angry will deal foolishly4444 ,he that is slow to anger is of great understanding3 but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly4#dcf ,any one with a grain of sense will put a check upon his rising temper2 his discretion makes him slow to anger1 and he never feels to have won such true glory as when he bridles his wrath and passes by an offence without a sign of annoyance or resentment4#dcg ,you may almost be sure that a man is wise if you find that he has a cool spirit4#dch ,when you see a person who cautiously avoids the ground where strife is apt to be excited1 and builds his house on a spot where contention is impossible1 you instinctively respect him1 for you know it betokens wisdom2 but when you see a man always getting involved in quarrels1 always showing his teeth1#dci you rightly conclude that he is a fool4#ddj ,a fool uttereth all his anger3 but a wise man keepeth it back and stilleth it4#dda ,if we are naturally irritable or splenetic1 wisdom will incline us to avoid occasions which excite us1 and to keep a watchful guard over our spirits where the occasions are inevitable4 ,if we neglect such precautions we shall justly be counted fools1 and the consequent outbreaks of passion will lead us into fresh exhibitions of folly1 and more completely justify the harsh judgment which has been passed upon us4 ,but not the least sign of the folly which is inherent in passion is the shocking effect which it has upon those who give way to it4 ,as the ,,lxx4 version says at the beginning of this chapter1 ,anger destroys even the wise4 ,and one whose spirit is without restraint is forcibly compared to a city that is broken down and has no wall2#ddb every foe can go up and possess it1 every thoughtless child can fling a firebrand into it2 the barest word1 hint1 smirk1 shrug of the shoulders1 any unintentional slight or reflection1 nay1 even silence itself1 will suddenly set the powder-train on fire1 and the consequent explosion will be more destructive to the city itself than to those who are outside4 ,a man of great wrath shall bear the penalty1 and1 poor fellow1 perhaps it is best that he should1 for if you deliver him from the consequence of his passion1 that will only encourage him in further outbreaks1 and so he will become worse1 and your deliverance will be an endless task4#ddc ,our great ,king ,henry ,,ii4 was subject to fits of uncontrollable passion1 in which he would roll on the floor and bite the dust1 impotent with rage2 and all the sorrows of his life and reign1 falling heavily upon him in his later years1 were occasioned by this unhappy temper4 ,at the present time we are told that the ,chinese frequently indulge in fits of passionate wrath1 which react terribly upon their health and make them physically ill4 ,the wrathful man does mischief to many1 but his wrath is like an old arquebus1 which1 when it is fired1 hurts the bearer almost as much as the enemy4 ,it may fail to hit the mark1 but it is sure to knock down the marksman4 ,probably here the plea will be urged that we cannot help our temper1 and it may be said1 the suffering which it brings upon us is the best proof that it is an infirmity rather than a vice4 ,now this excuse cannot be allowed to pass2 a certain good bishop on one occasion hearing it urged1 in extenuation of a man's conduct1 that he had such an unfortunate temper1 exclaimed1 ,temper1 why temper is nine-tenths of ,christianity6 ,if we are not to be blamed for bad temper1 then there is no fault or defect or vice which we cannot shift off our own shoulders and lay to the charge of our constitution4 ,but our constitution is no excuse for sin2 the most that can be urged is that if we are constitutionally inclined to any particular sin we must seek for a special strength to fortify us against it4 ,if in building a city an ancient engineer had one side more exposed than the rest1 protected by no natural escarpments of rock or bends of the river1 there he would concentrate all his skill to make the wall impregnable4 ,if you find that one of your bodily organs betrays a tendency to disease1 you are careful to avoid the exposure1 or the strain1 or the derangement1 which would unfavourably affect it4 ,if your lungs are delicate you shun fogs and chills2 if your heart is feeble you are careful to avoid any sudden excitement2 if your eyes are weak you notice very particularly by what light you read1 and are sensitive to the least weariness in those delicate instruments4 ,in the same way1 if your special infirmity lies in the temper2 if you are easily provoked1 or apt to fall into sullenness2 if a sudden annoyance excites an uncontrollable passion in your mind1 or drops into your heart seeds of bitterness which rapidly grow and become ineradicable2 you have your work cut out for you2 your daily task will be to avoid the things which produce such ill effects1 and to cultivate the habits which lessen the virulent action of these irritant poisons4 ,few of us realize how wonderfully our constitution is subjected to our own control1 and how much we ourselves have to do with the making of it4 ,you know1 we will suppose1 that you are easily entangled in a quarrel2 you must then prepare yourself before you go out into the business of the day1--,go not forth hastily to strive1 lest4444 ,what wilt thou do in the end1 when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame8#ddd ,this realization of what will probably result from your hasty temper will act as a check upon it1 and you will be inclined1 if you have any ground of offence against your neighbour1 to go quietly and debate it with him alone4#dde ,or if the contention has been sprung upon you unawares1 take care that over the floodgates of your passion has been written this wholesome warning1 ,the beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water3 therefore leave off contention1 before there be any setting of the teeth4#ddf ,knowing your danger you must summon to your aid all the heroism of your nature1 and remember that this is the time and the occasion to exercise it4 ,others have to win their spurs on the battlefield2 this is your battlefield1 and here your spurs are to be won4 ,others have to win kingdoms or capture cities2 here is the kingdom where you are to reign1 this is the city which you are to take4 ,he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty2 and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city4#ddg ,get at some grand root principle like this3 ,hatred stirreth up strifes3 but love covereth all transgressions4#ddh ,ah1 yes1 if you are disposed to be angry with men1 fill your spirit with love to them2 that will soothe your irritable nerves1 and will flow over their transgressions so that they cease to annoy you because you cease to see them2 when we are fervent in love to one another1 the love covers a multitude of sins4#ddi ,where love comes into the soul we are more anxious to convert those who offend us than to be angry with them4#dej ,love saves us from the self-vaunting which exposes us to the annoyances1 and provokes the attacks1 of the malignant2#dea and it enables us to bear all things1 almost without a ruffle or a perturbation4 ,strange to say1 passionate temperaments are often very affectionate2 let them cultivate the love in themselves1 and it will be the destruction of the evil temper4 ,and where the evil passion comes from a true moroseness1 then the fruit can only be destroyed with the root1 and the root can only be destroyed when love is shed abroad in the heart4 ,or possibly your anger is not of the passionate kind1 but rather stern and resentful1 arising from an exaggerated sense of self-importance4 ,a meek#deb heart is not wrathful1 and it is the life of the flesh2 but where meekness fails1 envy enters as rottenness of the bones1 and with envy1 hatred and malice4#dec ,a meek#deb tongue not only checks wrath in itself1 but soothes it in others2 it is a tree of life1 just as perverseness in it is a breaking of the spirit4#ded ,if you thought less of yourself1 you would not so frequently feel your dignity offended2 you would not require this weapon of wrath always at hand to leap forth and avenge your outraged pride4 ,from the meek heart vengeance dies away4 ,say not thou1 ,i will recompense evil3 wait on the ,lord1 and ,he shall save thee4#dee ,you are sudden and quick in quarrel1 because you think of yourself more highly than you ought to think2 and because others do not share your opinion of yourself1 you must summon all your artillery of wrath to make them bend the stubborn knee and offer you the due tribute of deference or admiration4 ,for if bad temper comes often from constitutional infirmities which must be carefully watched and controlled1 it comes just as frequently from that subtle enemy of our souls1 ,pride4 ,but now we come to the important question1 ,how are our evil passions to be cured8 ,and we must frankly admit that our book has no suggestions to offer4 ,its tendency is to regard our disposition as fixed1 our temperament as irreversible1 our character as unchangeable4 ,it points out with crystalline clearness the mischief of wrath and the merit of meekness1 but it never so much as entertains the possibility that the wrathful man might become meek1 the passionate man patient and gentle4 ,we have in our analysis of the evil observed that in order to avoid it we must be vigilant to mark and control the first risings of passion2 we have noted too that if we were truly loving1 anger would die away1 and if we were truly humble1 the resentments which stir our anger would have nothing to feed upon4 ,but the main difficulty is1 how are we to become watchful1 since it is the special characteristic of a hasty temper that it overpowers our sentinels before it assaults the city8 ,and how are we to become loving and humble8 ,it is only throwing the difficulty back a step or two1 and showing us how insuperable it is1 to say that we must become good in one direction in order to escape the evil which lies in another direction4 ,it does not help the ,ethiopian to become a ,european to tell him that ,europeans have white skins instead of black2 nor can a leopard change his kind because he learns that his spots are his distinctive mark4 ,there must be a deeper message than that of the ,proverbs to solve this practical difficulty2 though we may well feel that the book is invaluable in setting before us how greatly we need a deeper message4 ,no infirmity of human nature proves more forcibly than the one with which we are dealing that some thing out of ,nature must come in if a change is to be effected4 ,we must be born again2 it is only a regenerate heart which will have the impulse and the ability to watch against the eruption of a passionate disposition4 ,it is only a regenerate heart which can love in such a way that irritations cease to fret1 or that can be humble enough to escape the exasperations of wounded pride4 ,many of us think lightly of these particular faults1 and scarcely designate ill-temper a sin at all2 but however we may regard it1 the wrathful disposition requires nothing less than ,christ1 and ,him crucified1 to cure it1 and ,god deemed it worth while to send ,his only-begotten ,son in order to effect the cure4 ,in ,christ ,jesus are forces1 moral and spiritual1 strong enough to control the most uncontrollable rage and to soothe the most irritable temper2 and as we can point to no other power which is sufficient for such a change1 so few things manifest so strikingly the blessed presence of ,christ in the heart as the softened and gentle temper1 the removal of all those explosive elements which before ,he entered were constantly causing trouble and suffering and alarm4 ,here is an example taken from a country where the knowledge of the ,gospel is comparatively recent4 ,a ,japanese gentleman living at ,fujioka1 who was much addicted to the use of ske1 a strong intoxicant1 which produced the worst results on his temper1 was led through reading a tract on the subject to renounce the evil habit1 and to accept ,jesus ,christ as his ,saviour4 ,in proportion as the ,divine power mastered him he became a new creature4 ,one day his wife had been careless about some silkworms' eggs1 which had become partially destroyed1 and she trembled with fear that he would become enraged when he discovered it1 and punish her severely1 as he had done before4 ,but to her great astonishment1 when he found out what had happened he remained perfectly calm1 and then said1 ,we can distribute them among our poor neighbours1 and so they will have a larger crop4 ,thus it will perhaps be better than if we had sold them and taken all the money ourselves4 ,his wife was so impressed with this change of character that she said1 ,this is the result of ,christianity2 ,i want to become a ,christian too4 ,she sought and found1 and her whole family sought and found4 ,and not only so1 but the neighbours were struck by this living epistle1 and shortly afterwards when the missionary went to ,fujioka there were ten persons awaiting baptism4 ,at the present time a good ,christian ,church is growing up in the place4#def ,where the ,lord ,jesus ,christ reigns evil passions subside and die away4 ,learn of ,me3 for ,i am meek and lowly of heart4 ,blessed are the meek3 for they shall inherit the earth4 ,one who is born again1 one whose life is hidden with ,christ in ,god1 is necessarily meek1 meek as the ,lord ,himself3 not1 as we well know1 devoid of noble anger or fiery indignation1 for indeed it is only the meek heart from which all personal pretensions have been eradicated1 and to which no personal feeling can be attributed1 that is able to pour out vials of wrath1 undeterred and unquenchable1 upon all that is base and mean1 impure and false1 corrupt and cruel2 but meek in this beautiful sense1 that it never takes offence1 never suspects evil1 never resents any wrong except moral wrong that is done to others1 or spiritual wrong done to ,god4 ,all the tinder on which angry passions feed has been removed by the ,cross of ,christ1 and therefore the only wrath which can be entertained is such wrath as ,god feels1--the deep intense glow of consuming indignation against sin4 ,for our evil tempers1 then1 our passion1 our wrath1 our sullen pride1 our fretful irritability1 our outbreaks of sarcasm1 our malignant sneers1 there is only one possible cure2 we must bring the heart1 out of which all the evil comes1 to ,jesus ,christ1 that ,he may create it anew2 we must accept our failures as evidence of an imperfect surrender1 and come afresh with a more insistent cry1 and a more perfect faith1 that ,he may reign in our hearts as undisputed ,lord1 checking1 subduing1 warring down1 every evil motion there4 ,,footnotes3 #dca ,prov4 xxix4 #bb4 #dcb ,prov4 xxix4 #h4 #dcc ,prov4 xxvi4 #ba4 #dcd ,prov4 xxii4 #bd4 #dce ,prov4 xvii4 #ab4 #dcf ,prov4 xiv4 #ag1 #bi4 #dcg ,prov4 xix4 #aa4 ,when ,lanfranc was prior of ,bec he ventured to oppose ,duke ,william's ,flemish marriage4 ,in a wild burst of wrath ,william bade his men burn a manor house of ,bec and drive out ,lanfranc from ,norman ground4 ,he came to see the work done1 and found ,lanfranc hobbling on a lame horse towards the frontier4 ,he angrily bad him hasten1 and ,lanfranc replied by a cool promise to go faster out of his land if he would give him a better steed4 ',you are the first criminal that ever asked gifts from his judge1' retorted ,william1 but a burst of laughter told that the wrath had gone1 and ,william and ,lanfranc drew together again4--,green's ,conquest of ,england1 p4 #eea4 #dch ,prov4 xvii4 #bg4 #dci ,this word 1 which only occurs here 7xx4 #c7 and in xvii4 #ad and xviii4 #a1 would seem from the cognate root in ,arab4 and ,syr4 to mean setting the teeth together1 which is a much more vivid and specific idea than quarrelling4 #ddj ,prov4 xx4 #c4 #dda ,prov4 xxix4 #aa4 #ddb ,prov4 xxv4 #bh4 #ddc ,prov4 xix4 #ai4 #ddd ,prov4 xxv4 #h4 #dde ,prov4 xxv4 #i4 #ddf ,prov4 xvii4 #ad4 ,see note #d1 p4 #bje4 #ddg ,prov4 xvi4 #cb4 #ddh ,prov4 x4 #ab4 #ddi #a ,peter iv4 #h4 #dej ,james v4 #bj4 #dea #a ,cor4 xiii4 #d4 #deb ,this meaning of 1 as was observed in ,lecture ,,xii41 p4 #agb1 seems to yield the best sense in these two passages 7cp4 xii4 #ah2 xiii4 #ag71 as in ,eccl4 x4 #d1 gentleness allayeth great offences1 which is a good commentary on our text4 #dec ,prov4 xiv4 #cj4 #ded ,prov4 xv4 #d4 #dee ,prov4 xx4 #bb4 #def ,missionary ,review of the ,world1 ,feb4 #ahhi1 p4 #adc4 ,,xvi4 ,a ,,just ,,balance4 ,a just balance and scales are the ,lord's3 all the weights of the bag are ,his work4--,,prov4 xvi4 #aa4 ,a false balance is an abomination to the ,lord3 but a just weight is ,his delight4--,,prov4 xi4 #a4 ,divers weights1 and divers measures1 both of them alike are an abomination to the ,lord4--,,prov4 xx4 #aj4 ,divers weights are an abomination to the ,lord2 and a false balance is not good4--,,prov4 xx4 #bc4 ,the sixteenth chapter opens--and we may annex to it the last verse of chap4 xv4--with a series of sayings which are grouped together on the principle that the name of the ,lord occurs in each4 ,there is no obvious connection between the successive verses1 and some of them have been already touched on in previous lectures1 but it will be worth while to glance at the series as a whole4 ,the ,lord's presence must be recognised and reverenced before we can make any progress in wisdom1 and in ,his presence we must humble ourselves before we can expect any honour4#deg ,we are entirely dependent upon ,him2 although our hearts may form plans1 we cannot utter anything aright unless ,he controls our tongue4#deh ,however self-satisfied we may be with our own ways1 however convinced we may be of our own innocence1 ,he weighs our spirit1 and will often find a guilt which our conceit ignores1 an impurity which our vanity would hide4#dei ,we should do well1 therefore1 to commit all our works to ,him1 in order that ,he may revise and correct our purposes and establish those which are good4#dfj ,we cannot think too much of ,his all-inclusive wisdom and knowledge2 everything lies in ,his hands and is designed for ,his ends2 even the wicked who rebel against ,him--men like ,pharaoh1 ,nebuchadnezzar1 ,judas1 ,elymas--must in their inevitable punishment glorify ,his righteousness and truth4#dfa ,for punishment is absolutely sure2 the proud are an abomination to ,him1 and though they combine to oppose ,his will and to escape the penalty1 it will be quite in vain4#dfb ,on the other hand1 where ,he sees mercy and truth ,he will purge iniquity1 and when men fear ,him they will depart from evil4#dfc ,when ,his smile is upon them and ,he approves their ways1 ,he will make their path plain1 pacifying their enemies1 and making their hearts glad4#dfd ,he will guide them1 even directing their steps1 in such a manner that their own imperfect counsels shall turn to a happy and successful issue4#dfe ,whoso trusteth in the ,lord1 happy is he4#dff ,indeed we cannot exaggerate the minute observation of the ,lord2 no detail escapes ,his eye1 no event is beyond ,his control2 even what is generally called ,chance is but another name for ,his unmarked and unknown direction2 the very lot--that lot which settles contentions and separates the strong#dfg--;cast into the lap is actually disposed by ,him2#dfh much more1 therefore1 are the deliberate transactions of commerce--those subtle bonds of the cash nexus which twine man to man and nation to nation--under ,his constant inspection and a subject of ,his most interested concern1--a just balance and scales are the ,lord's3 all the weights of the bag are ,his work4 ,it is1 then1 as part of the ,lord's watchful activity and direct1 detailed connection with all the affairs of human life1 that ,he is interested in our business and trade4 ,we may notice at once that this is very characteristic of the ,old ,testament religion4 ,in the ,deuteronomic ,law it was written3 ,thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights1 a great and a small4 ,thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures1 a great and a small4 ,a perfect and a just weight shalt thou have2 a perfect and just measure shalt thou have3 that thy days may be long upon the land which the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee4 ,for all that do such things1 even all that do unrighteously1 are an abomination unto the ,lord thy ,god4#dfi ,again1 in the ,levitical ,law we find3 ,ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment1 in meteyard1 in weight1 or in measure4 ,just balances1 just weights1 a just ephah1 and a just hin1 shall ye have3 ,i am the ,lord your ,god1 which brought you out of the land of ,egypt4#dgj ,the ,israelite was encouraged to think that all the work in which he engaged was ordained by1 and therefore under the observation of1 his ,god4 ,hate not laborious work1 neither husbandry which the ,most ,high hath ordained1 says ,ecclesiasticus4#dga ,and there is a striking passage in ,isaiah where the operations of agriculture are described in detail1 and all are attributed to ,god1 who instructs the husbandman aright and teaches him4 ,it all comes from the ,lord of hosts1 which is wonderful in counsel1 and excellent in wisdom4#dgb ,but at present we are concerned only with trade as a department of industrial life1 and especially with the actual chaffering of exchange1 the barter of goods for goods1 the weights and measures which settle the quantities1 and the rules which must govern all such transactions4 ,we should gather that the commercial fraud of those primitive times took this comparatively simple form3 the merchant would have1 let us say1 a half shekel which came a little short of the regulation weight2 or he would have a cubit measure 7#a ft4 #i in47 half an inch under a cubit2 or he would have a vessel professing to hold a hin 7i4e4 a little more than a gallon71 but actually holding a little less than a gallon2 or he would have a dry measure1 marked as an ephah 7i4e4 about three pecks71 but incapable of holding the ostensible quantity4 ,in an ordinary way he would use these inadequate measures1 and thus nibble a little from every article which he sold to a customer4 ,but in the event of a purchaser presenting himself who had a fuller knowledge or might conceivably act as an inspector and report the fraud to the judge1 there would be a just half shekel weight in the bag1 a full cubit rule hidden behind the counter1 a hin or an ephah measure of legal dimensions within easy reach4 ,you may smile at such primitive methods of deception1 but it requires many generations for a civilized society to elaborate commercial fraud on the large scale4 ,now passing at once to our own times and bringing the truth of our text to illuminate them1 ,i should like to say a little to people engaged in business1 whether as employers or employed1 whether the business is wholesale or retail4 ,and let me assure you that ,i am not going to attempt a detailed examination and criticism of your business concerns4 ,such an attempt would be grossly impertinent1 and might well expose me1 not only to your indignation1 but to your ridicule4 ,no1 ,i do not believe that it is the part of the preacher to meddle with matters which he does not understand2 he only discredits his message by affecting an omniscience which he cannot possibly possess4 ,i have no doubt that the youth who has been in a warehouse or behind the counter for six months already knows more of commercial habits1 of trade practices1 of the temptations and difficulties which practically press upon people in business1 than ,i know1 or am likely to know if ,i live to twice my present age4 ,i shall not therefore insult you by attempting to point out evils and expose abuses1 to denounce particular frauds1 and to hold up any special people or classes of people to moral reprobation4 ,my task is quite different2 it is this3--,i am to remind you1 first1 that ,god possesses that omniscience to which ,i can lay no claim1 and therefore is intimately acquainted with all the transactions of your bank1 your warehouse1 your office1 your counter1 your workshop2 and1 secondly1 that ,he regards with intense satisfaction all fair dealing1 and with vindictive indignation every fraud1 and trick1 and lie4 ,and on the strength of this ,i am to ask you very earnestly to review your lives and your practices in the light of ,his judgment1 and to consider how you may bring all your doings in business into conformity with ,his will4 ,perhaps you will let me1 as a man speaking to his fellow-men1 as a ,christian1 ,i hope1 speaking to his fellow-,christians1 expand these three points a little4 ,first4 ,we are all of us tempted to think that a considerable proportion of our life is too insignificant to attract the particular attention of ,god4 ,we can understand that ,he takes notice of our entrance into1 and our exit from1 the world1 but we think that between the two limits ,he leaves us to devise our own ways4 ,or possibly we can recognise ,his interest in the crises of our life1 but are inclined to question ,his minute care of the common and monotonous routine4 ,he marks what business we enter1 but1 when we are in it1 lets us alone4 ,he is interested in our marriage1 but1 when we are married1 leaves husband and wife to adjust their own relations4 ,or ,he marks a large business transaction in which there is room for a really gigantic fraud1 but cannot pay any attention to a minute sale over the counter1 the trivial adulteration of a common article1 the ingenious subterfuge for disposing of a damaged or useless stock4 ,is not this our unspoken but implicit mode of reasoning8 ,and could anything be more illogical8 ,the ,divine ,power which could create this infinitely diversified universe must be able to mark every tiniest detail of the tiniest object in it4 ,great and small are relative terms1 and have no significance to ,him4 ,naturalists tell us that in the scale of living creatures1 arranged according to size1 the common beetle occupies the middle point1 the smallest living creature being as much smaller as the largest is larger than it4 ,and yet the microscope1 so far from showing that ,god takes less care with the infinitesimal creations of ,his hand1 rather inclines us to say that the smaller the creature is1 the more delicate adjustment1 the more exquisite proportions1 the more brilliant hues1 does it display4 ,our ,lord brought home to us this minuteness of the ,divine ,mind1 this infinite power of embracing the veriest trifles of the creation in ,his thought and care1 by assuring us that not a sparrow falls without ,his notice and that the hairs of our heads are all numbered4 ,there is then no logical resting-place1 when we are thinking of the ,mind of ,god4 ,if ,he knows us at all1 ,he knows all about us4 ,if ,he marks what we consider the important things in our life1 ,he marks equally what we consider the unimportant things4 ,the whole life1 with every detail from birth to death1 is accurately photographed in the light of ,his omniscience2 and as the exposed plate of the camera receives many details which escape the observation of our eyes1 so the smallest and least observed transaction in the daily business1 every figure entered truly or falsely in the ledger1 every coin dropped justly or dishonestly into the till1 every bale1 every packet1 every thread1 every pin1 which changes hands in the market1 passes at once into the observant and comprehending mind of ,god4#dgc ,second4 ,but in this exhaustive and detailed knowledge of the way in which you are conducting your business1 ,his warm approval follows everything that is honest and just1 ,his vehement censure lights on all that is dishonest or unjust4 ,it may come as a great comfort to you to know that a little business matter which cost you a considerable struggle the other day was duly noted and recorded by the ,lord4 ,i was not present at the time1 nor did any one who was near you in the least surmise what was passing4 ,but you suddenly recognised the possibility of making a large profit by simply adopting a very slight subterfuge2 what made the case peculiarly difficult was that neighbouring and rival firms to your certain knowledge did the like every day2 the innocent faces of wife and children at home seem to urge you1 for what a difference would this sum of money make to their comfort and welfare in the coming year6 you weighed the little trick over and over again1 and set it now in this light1 now in that1 until at last the black began to seem grey1 and the grey almost white4 ,after all1 was it a subterfuge8 was it not merely a quite legitimate reserve1 an even laudable commercial prudence8 ,and then1 as you wavered1 some clear light of truth fell upon your mind2 you saw distinctly what was the right course1 and very quietly you took it2 the prospect of gain was surrendered1 you saw the advantage pass over to your rival2 he availed himself of it1 and went to church next ,sunday just the same4 ,sometimes you have wondered whether after all you were not too scrupulous4 ,now all that ,god knows2 it is ,his delight2 ,he has recorded it already in ,his ,book1 and also in your own moral nature1 which is the stronger and the better for it4 ,on the other hand1 it must be a subject of some concern to many that the same all-observing1 all-recording ,mind regards with hatred all the sharp practices by which in business we deceive and defraud one another4 ,i suppose there is a way of making up books which would pass any accountant in ,london1 and yet would not pass the audit of ,god4 ,i suppose there are gains which to the average commercial conscience of to-day appear fair enough1 and yet to the ,one who weighs the spirits of men seem to be quite illicit4 ,there must be men who made their money long ago in certain ways best known to themselves1 and are now living in great comfort2 but all the time in the books of ,god a terrible record stands against them1 and as the eye of ,god falls upon those pages1 the moan of the ruined1 the cry of the fatherless and the widow1 and the horrified entreaties of the helpless come up into ,his ear4 ,we have no reason for thinking that the unjust balance has become any less abominable to the ,lord because the eager and relentless competition of modern industrial life has multiplied1 while it has refined1 the methods of fraud1 and has created a condition of things in which1 as so many people urge1 questionable practices have become actually necessary for one who would keep his head above water4 ,we have no reason to think that ,god regards it as at all essential that any of us should keep his head above water4 ,the warm and honourable reception given to ,lazarus in heaven1 when his head had gone under the waters on earth1 might lead us to think that what we call failures here may possibly be regarded as grand successes there4 ,but we have every reason to think that double dealing1 no matter what may be the plea1 is abominable in the sight of the ,lord4 ,it is in vain to point to the great prosperity which has fallen to the lot of some whose dishonourable practices have been notorious4 ,it is beyond a doubt that knavery may be successful in its way and a clever rogue may outdistance an honest dullard4 ,the proverb ,honesty is the best policy is not1 as some people seem to think1 in the ,bible2 honesty may or may not be the best policy1 according to the object which you have in view4 ,if your object is simply to amass wealth1 the saying will read1 ,honesty is the best policy2 and where it is not1 be dishonest4 ,god does not judge in the least by worldly prosperity4 ,from the parable just alluded to one would conclude that it is1 in heaven1 a certain presumption against a man2 there may yet prove to be truth in the hard saying1 ,he that dies rich is damned4 ,if ,god hates these questionable practices which are said to exist in modern trade1 and if ,he enters them all in ,his black books1 they who prosper by employing them are none the less failures3 their ruin is sure2 their remorse will be as inevitable as their recovery will be impossible4 ,third4 ,i come therefore now to urge upon all of you that you should order all your business ways as in the sight of ,god1 and concern yourselves chiefly with the thought how they may be in conformity with ,his holy ,will4 ,do not be content with estimating your conduct by the judgment which other men would pass upon it4 ,while such an estimate might reveal many things which would not pass muster1 it is doubtful whether their problematical censure will afford an adequate motive for reform1 and it is sure to overlook many of the evils which they are bound to wink at1 because their own hands are not clean4 ,do not be content even with estimating your conduct by the standard of your own unaided conscience4 ,your conscience may at any given time be in a degraded state2 in order to keep it quiet you may have brought it down to the level of your conduct4 ,a thief's conscience seldom troubles him unless his theft is unsuccessful1 in which case it reproaches him for not being more careful and more skilful4 ,you may1 like ,st4 ,paul1 know nothing against yourself and yet not be thereby justified4 ,for doubtless most of the evil practices of our time represent a conscience that has been stupefied with sophistry and deadened with selfishness1 so that the worst culprits are the first to put on an air of injured innocence1 and those who are least guilty suffer most just because the conscience is still sensitive and has not yet been seared with the usual hot iron4 ,no1 the only safe and effectual method is to bring all your business habits1 all the practices of the counter and the counting-house1 under the searching eye of the ,all-seeing ,one4 ,unless you realize that ,he sees and knows1 and unless you humbly submit everything to ,his judgment1 you are sure to go wrong2 your standard will insensibly fall1 and you will insensibly fall away even from the fallen standard4 ,it is said that peculiar difficulties beset you in the present day2 it is said that it was never so hard to be straightforward and aboveboard in commercial dealings2 it is said that the insane ,moloch of competition imperatively demands the blood of our youth1 and even makes assaults on the established virtues of maturity4 ,it may be so1 though we are generally inclined to exaggerate the peculiar temptations of our own time in comparison with those of a former age2 but if it is so1 then there is all the more urgent a necessity that you should bring your affairs to ,god's judgment1 seek diligently to understand ,his will1 and then ask ,him for a peculiar strength to enable you to overcome these peculiar temptations4 ,you will not alter ,his judgment of your conduct by attempting to ignore it4 ,but by seeking to understand it1 and by laying your heart open to be influenced by it1 you will find that your conduct is perceptibly altered and apparent impossibilities are overcome1 because by the fear of the ,lord men depart from evil4#dgd ,,footnotes3 #deg ,prov4 xv4 #cc4 #deh ,prov4 xvi4 #a4 #dei ,prov4 xvi4 #b4 #dfj ,prov4 xvi4 #c4 #dfa ,prov4 xvi4 #d4 ,see note1 p4 #bja4 #dfb ,prov4 xvi4 #e4 #dfc ,prov4 xvi4 #f4 #dfd ,prov4 xvi4 #g4 #dfe ,prov4 xvi4 #i4 ,cf4 ,prov4 xix4 #ba3 ,there are many devices in a man's heart2 but the counsel of the ,lord1 that shall stand4 #dff ,prov4 xvi4 #bj4 #dfg ,prov4 xviii4 #ah4 ,john ,paton1 the missionary to the ,new ,hebrides1 uncertain whether to go back to ,scotland and plead for more missionaries1 and receiving no light from human counsel1 says1 ,after many prayers and wrestlings and tears1 ,i went alone before the ,lord1 and on my knees cast lots with a solemn appeal to ,god1 and the answer came ',go home4' ,in my heart ,i believe that 444 the ,lord condescended to decide for me the path of duty1 otherwise unknown2 and ,i believe it the more truly now1 in view of the aftercome of thirty years of service to ,christ that flowed out of the steps then deliberately and devoutly taken4 ,see the ,autobiography1 ,second ,part 7,hodder and ,stoughton1 #ahhi74 #dfh ,prov4 xvi4 #cc4 #dfi ,deut4 xxv4 #ac-af4 #dgj ,lev4 xix4 #cc1 #cf4 #dga ,eccles4 vii4 #ae4 #dgb ,isa4 xxviii4 #bc-bi4 #dgc ,it seems impossible that a general and perfect morality in business can ever be attained apart from this apprehension of an ,omniscient ,mind weighing and judging1 as well as accurately observing1 everything done even in secret4 ,in medival ,europe1 when this faith was practically unquestioned1 there was a certain honesty and sincerity in handicrafts and in general dealing1 until the ,church made the fatal blunder of granting indulgences for men's peccadilloes1 and professing to exonerate them from the consequences of the truth which she herself in theory held4 #dgd ,prov4 xvi4 #f4 ,,xvii4 ,,friendship4 ,a friend loveth at all times1 and as a brother is born for adversity4--,,prov4 xvii4 #ag4 7,this rendering1 based upon the margin of the ,r4,v41 yields a much better sense than the loosely connected1 ,and a brother is born for adversity47 ,one of the most striking contrasts between the ancient and the modern world is in the place which is given to ,friendship by moralists and religious teachers4 ,in ,aristotle's famous treatise on ,ethics two books out of nine are devoted to the moral bearings of ,friendship1 and these books form the climax of the work1 and are the natural transition to the work on ,politics1 or the science of the ,state4 ,this central position given to the subject by the greatest and most systematic teacher of antiquity1 compared with the very subordinate part which friendship plays in ,christian ethics1 is calculated to make us reflect and enquire4 ,is not the explanation probably this8 ,our ,lord gave a great new commandment to ,his disciples1 that they should love one another2 and though ,christian men have as yet but imperfectly understood what ,he meant1 or carried out what they have understood1 an ideal was created which far transcended that lower relationship of antiquity4 ,greek friendship was to be merged in ,christian love4 ,the meaning of such a change will appear if we remember two characteristics of mere friendship1 on which ,aristotle dwells4 ,one is that it is necessarily based upon selfishness2 springing from a wish to realize oneself in the life of another1 fed by the benefit or pleasure derived from the mutual intercourse1 it lies under the necessary limitation that we shall not wish for our friend a good which would remove him from us1 or an improvement which would raise him too far above us4 ,for the second point is that friendship can only exist between equals1 and the best friendship is that between good men who stand upon the same level of virtue4 ,christian love1 on the other hand1 springs from a complete abnegation of ,self4 ,it seeks nothing3 it gives all4 ,so far from laying stress upon the equality of conditions1 it is never better pleased than when it can raise another to a position of excellence far surpassing its own1 and instead of seeking its highest satisfaction in intercourse with its spiritual peers1--the good1 the great1 the saintly1--it attains its apotheosis when it is allowed to embrace the weak1 the sinful1 the fallen1 and to lavish all its ,divine resources upon those who may never be able to repay it even with gratitude4 ,it is obvious1 then1 that friendship is on a lower plane than ,christian love1 and it marks a great advance in ideal ethics when the lesser star pales in presence of the greater2 but it may be urged with truth that friendship still has its place in life1 and deserves a more careful attention than it receives4 ,in the individual1 as in the race1 friendship may be a prelude and a practice of the nobler and wider relation4 ,and there is this further reason for trying to understand the nature of friendship1 that it is more than once in the ,bible used as a type and a figure of the relationship which may exist between the soul and its ,god4 ,we will proceed then to examine some of the characteristics of friendship referred to in the book of ,proverbs4 ,friends1 according to the original sense of the ,hebrew word1 are those who delight in one another's companionship2 either they are useful to one another because each possesses gifts which the other has not1 or they are agreeable to one another because they have certain tastes in common4 ,thus there may of course be a friendship in evil1 in vice1 in destructive practices2 thieves may enter into a league to carry out their antisocial designs1 and may be very true to one another2 vicious men may find a bond of friendship in the common indulgence of their vices2 and in this way friendship1 so called1 may be a means of ruining the friends4 ,there are friends for mutual shattering1 just as there is a lover that cleaves more than a brother4#dge ,there may also be an interested comradeship which is entirely hypocritical2 such a friendship is usually marked by a loud and ostentatious demonstration3 ,he that blesseth his friend with a loud voice1 rising early in the morning1 it shall be counted a curse to him4#dgf ,but1 in the main1 friendship implies a certain amount of goodness2 for it is in itself a virtue4 ,the suspicious1 malignant nature of evil men speedily snaps the ties which bind them together for a time2 and where honour exists among thieves it affords a strong presumption that the thieves are the product of a wrong social state1 rather than of a naturally evil disposition4 ,we may then practically1 in thinking of friendship1 confine our attention to that which exists between well-meaning people1 and tends on the whole to bless1 to strengthen1 and to improve them4 ,we may come to look at some of the uses and the delights of friendship4 ,as in water face answers to face1 so in the heart man answers to man4#dgg ,in the heart of our friend we see our own character reflected just as gazing into a still pool we see the reflection of our own face4 ,it is in the frank and sympathetic intercourse of friendship that we really get to know ourselves1 and to realize what is in us4 ,we unfold to one another1 we discover our similarities and mark our differences4 ,points which remained unobserved in our own hearts are immediately detected and understood when we see them also in our friends2 faculties which remained unused are brought into play to supplement the discovered defects in our friend's nature4 ,we hardly guess what a fund of happy humour is in us until we are encouraged to display it by observing how its flashes light up the face we love4 ,our capacities of sympathy and tenderness remain undeveloped until we wish eagerly to comfort our friend in a sudden sorrow4 ,in a true friendship we find that we are living a life which is doubled in all its faculties of enjoyment and of service2#dgh we quite shudder to think what cold1 apathetic1 undeveloped creatures we should have been but for that genial touch which unfolded us1 and warmed our hearts into genuine feeling while it brought our minds into active play4 ,this intellectual value of friendship is brought out in the happy saying3 ,iron sharpeneth iron2 so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend4#dgi ,a friendless person has a lack-lustre face2 his talk has a dull edge2 his emotions a poor and feeble flow4 ,that delightful readiness of thought and expression which makes all the charm of social intercourse1 the easy tact which rubs off the angles and smooths all the relations of life1 the bright coruscations which seem like sunlight playing over summer seas1 are usually the result of close and intimate communion with congenial friends4 ,reading may make a learned man1 and without hard study few people can accomplish much permanent good in the world1 but reading does not necessarily make a really social man1 one who brings his fellow-creatures together in happy and helpful relationships2 that beautiful faculty is only acquired by the fostering and stimulating influences of heart companionships4 ,when we have real friends1 though they be only a few1 we diffuse a friendly feeling amongst others1 wherever we go4 ,possibly also in the simile of the iron lies a reminder of the discipline which friendship gives to character1 a discipline which is not always unaccompanied by pain4 ,friends rub each other's angles down1 and sometimes the friction is a little distressing to both sides4 ,the blades are sharpened1 by a few imperceptible filings being ground off each of their edges4 ,the use of friendship depends very largely on its frankness1 just as its sweetness depends upon mutual consideration4 ,when the frankness hurts we have to remind ourselves of the wholesome truth that the soft speaking is not always a token of love1 and the hard sayings of our friend may be uttered at a great personal cost1 for our good rather than his4 ,faithful are the wounds of a friend3 but the kisses of an enemy are profuse4#dhj ,if1 however1 friendship ripens through many years of kindly growth1 or if a swift elective affinity forestalls at once the fruit of years1 all the pain of mutual counsel and correction disappears1 and may be changed into a joy very sweet to the soul4 ,ointment and perfume rejoice the heart3 so doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of soul counsel4#dha ,it is a very beautiful condition of things which is referred to in this proverb4 ,two people have learnt thoroughly to understand one another1 and have become in a certain sense one4 ,each recognises the service that the other renders1 and welcomes the advice or even the rebuke which is made possible by their relationship4 ,the interchange of affection is naturally sweet1 but as sweet1 or even sometimes sweeter1 is the delicate aroma which arises when one sees a fault in the other1 and with a tenderness begotten of affection1 and a humility which trembles to presume1 speaks gently but frankly to his friend4 ,never do the eyes more eagerly respond to one another1 never is the hand-clasp so firm and hearty1 as after such a passage between true friends4 ,but the decisive test and the most beautiful proof of real friendship will be found in the day of adversity4 ,a friend is never known till needed4#dhb ,when calamity falls upon us1 false friends make excuses and go2 lip-friends relapse into silence2 but we begin then for the first time to find out who is a friend indeed4 ,then it appears that the true friend is entirely unchanged by the changed aspect of affairs2 it seems as if he had been born into a brotherhood with us for this express occasion4 ,there is no wish to cry off2 he seems even to press the brotherly tie in a way which we should not have presumed to expect1 and thus he contrives to lighten the oppressive burden of obligation for the favour that he confers on us1 by making it appear that he was bound to act as he does by a necessity of kinship4 ,this seems to be the meaning of our text4 ,such a friend1 if he be near at hand and in constant contact with us1 is of more service than our own brother2#dhc and when through his timely aid or effectual comfort we have come out of the furnace1 and our tears are dried1 we say constantly to ourselves that we doubt whether our own brother would have clung to us so faithfully1 would have borne with our querulous murmurs so patiently1 or relieved our necessities so delicately and so liberally4#dhd ,if you have such a friend as this1 your own or your father's1 take care to retain him2 do not alienate him by negligence or a deficient consideration4 ,put yourself out of the way to show that you appreciate and value him2 do not allow a false reserve or a foolish shyness to check your expression of gratitude4 ,a friendship is a delicate growth2 and even when it has become robust1 it can easily be blighted4 ,the results of years may be lost in a few days4 ,and if a root of bitterness springs up1 if a division occurs1 it may be quite impossible by every effort in your power to heal the breach or to pluck up that obstinate root4 ,a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city3 and such contentions are like the bars of a castle4#dhe ,the closer the intimacy had been1 the tenderer the friendship1 so much the sterner will be these bars1 so much the more inexpugnable the castle4 ,for it will be felt1 if such protestations1 such interchange of affection1 such mutual delights1 could have been deceptive1 mere hypocrisies or delusions1 what hope can there be that the same things broken and patched up again can be of any worth8 ,a difference with a chance acquaintance is easily removed2 further knowledge may improve our opinion of one another1 and even if we separate we have no deep resentment4 ,but a difference between true friends may quickly become irreparable4 ,they feel that there is no more to know2 they have seen the best and that has proved disappointing4 ,the resentment springs from a sense of abused confidence and injured love4 ,if you have real friends then1 take pains to keep them4 ,watch carefully for the small beginnings of a rupture and hasten to heal it4 ,think no effort is wasted1 and no apology or explanation is too humiliating1 which may avert that great calamity1--the loss of a true soul-comrade2 one whom you have learnt to honour with the name and dignity of friend4 ,the friends thou hast1 and their adoption tried1 says our wise poet1 ,grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel4 ,such a friendship as we have been considering1 rare and beautiful as it is1 forms a noble stepping-stone to the loftier relationship of ,christian love4 ,in tone and quality it is almost the same2 it differs only in its range and in its motive4 ,what one man feels to another in an ideal friendship1 the ,christian is called upon1 according to his capacity and opportunity1 to feel to man as man1 to all his fellow-creatures4 ,we cannot of course fulfil all the offices of friendship to every one1 and we are not as ,christians required to abate one jot of our love to those who are our friends by affinity and by choice4 ,but where the heart is truly ,christian it will become more expansive1 and it will be conscious of the powerful claims which weakness1 misery1 solitude1 or even moral failings1 make upon its friendship2 it will shrink from the selfishness inherent in all affections which are merely selective and exclusive2 it will earnestly desire to feel an affection which is inclusive and quite unselfish4 ,where is to be found the motive for such an enlarged spirit of friendship8 ,whence is to come the impulse to such a self-surrender8 ,surely such a motive and such an impulse are to be discovered only in that relation of friendship which ,god ,himself deigns to sustain towards the human soul4 ,jehoshaphat in his prayer appeals to ,god on the ground that ,he had given the land to ,abraham ,his friend for ever4#dhf ,and we read of ,moses that the ,lord spake unto him face to face1 as a man speaketh unto his friend4#dhg ,but in this position of one who is called the father of the faithful1 and of one who was the leader of his people1 we cannot but recognise a promise and a foreshadowing of a relation with ,god which was meant to become more general4 ,the whole tendency of the ,gospel is to put every believer in our ,lord ,jesus ,christ on a spiritual level with the most favoured and richly endowed of a former dispensation4 ,and since the ,incarnate ,son lived on earth1 and called the simple peasants of ,galilee to be1 not ,his servants1 but ,his friends1 if they did whatsoever ,he commanded them1#dhh we may without presumption--nay1 we must if we would not grieve ,him by unbelief--accept the mysteriously dignified position of ,god's friends4 ,the feeblest and the poorest1 as well as the strongest and most gifted1 believing in ,jesus ,christ1 in proportion as he heartily accepts the authority and obeys the commandment of his ,lord1 is a friend of ,god4 ,it is a very unequal friendship1 as we must all feel4 ,he has all the strength1 all the wisdom1 all the goodness1 all the gifts2 but the sense of inequality is removed by ,his own gracious friendliness3 ,he attaches such importance to a heartfelt love that ,he is willing to accept that as the fair equivalent of all that ,he does and gives to us2 and ,he remedies the terrible inferiority of ,his friends by realizing ,his own life in them and merging their imperfection in ,his perfectness1 their limitations in ,his infinity4 ,now1 shall we venture to assume that you and ,god are friends2 that the beautiful relation which we have examined1 the delight in mutual companionship1 the interchange of thought and feeling1 the quick and quickening response of love and comprehension1 exist between you and ,him8 ,come and read some of these sayings again and apply them to ,him4 ,you may gaze into the heart of ,god1 and as face answers to face in a quiet pool1 you may find yourself in ,him1--a larger self1 a truer self1 a holier self1 than you could ever find in any human fellowship1 or than you had ever dared to imagine4 ,this familiar intercourse with ,god1 which has its roots in a profound reverence and its fruits in an unutterable joy1 is the new creation of a human soul4 ,a man will be known by his friends1 and most assuredly he will be known1 if his ,friend and most constant ,companion is ,god4 ,he will regard that status as his highest title and distinction1 just as ,lord ,brooks was so proud of knowing ,sir ,philip ,sydney that he wished his epitaph to be ,here lies ,sir ,philip ,sydney's friend4 ,again1 in this close fellowship with ,god1 in ,his warnings and encouragements and chastisements1 even in the faithful wounds that ,he inflicts1 does not the heart perceive ,his sweetness as an ointment and perfume8 ,does not the quiet place where these passages of tender friendship between your soul and ,god occur become redolent with a precious fragrance1 as of incense or of fresh flowers8 ,and then the deep meaning which the friendship of ,god brings into our text1 ,a friend loveth at all times1 and as a brother--yes1 our ,divine ,brother1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ--is born for adversity2 or into that other saying1 ,there is a lover that cleaves more than a brother6 ,let us have no loud pharisaical ways in blessing our ,friend1#dhi but let no effort seem too exacting to retain unbroken this priceless blessing of the ,divine ,communion6 ,now1 where the soul counts ,god its nearest and dearest ,friend1--the ,friend of whom nothing in life or death can rob it1--this effect follows by a beautiful necessity3 the chief and all-inclusive friendship being secured1 we are at leisure from ourselves to soothe and sympathise1 we are able to extend our thoughts and our ministries of love to all around us1 and to reflect in our relations with men that exquisite relation which ,god has deigned to establish with us4 ,our own private friendships then produce no exclusiveness1 but rather they become the types of our feelings to others1 and the ever-springing fountainhead of friendly thoughts and courteous deeds2 while these private friendships and our wider relations alike are all brought up into the lofty and purifying friendship which we hold with our ,god and ,he with us4 ,,footnotes3 #dge ,prov4 xviii4 #bd4 ,this sense is obtained by what appears a necessary change in the text2 we must read for 4 ,a similar error occurs #b ,sam4 xiv4 #ai and ,micah vi4 #aj4 #dgf ,prov4 xxvii4 #ad4 #dgg ,prov4 xxvii4 #ai4 #dgh ,sorrows by being communicated grow less and joys greater4--,,bacon4 #dgi ,prov4 xxvii4 #ag4 #dhj ,prov4 xxvii4 #f4 #dha ,prov4 xxvii4 #i4 #dhb ,amicus certus in re incerta cernitur4--,,cicero4 #dhc ,prov4 xxvii4 #aj4 #dhd ,prov4 xviii4 #bd4 #dhe ,prov4 xviii4 #ai4 #dhf #b ,chron4 xx4 #g4 #dhg ,exod4 xxxiii4 #aa4 #dhh ,john xv4 #ad4 #dhi ,prov4 xxvii4 #ad4 ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,evil ,,of ,,isolation4 ,he that separates himself follows after his own desire1 but against all sound wisdom he shows his teeth4--,,prov4 xviii4 #a4 ,from the value of friendship there is a natural and easy transition to the evil of isolation4 ,we must try to fathom the profound meaning which is hidden under this simple but striking proverb4 ,to begin with1 what are we to understand by one that separates himself8 ,this same word occurs in #b ,sam4 i4 #bc concerning ,saul and ,jonathan1 that in their death they were not separated4 ,theirs was a togetherness which accompanied them to the grave4 ,on the other hand1 there are people who shun all togetherness in their lives1--they are voluntarily1 deliberately separated from their kind1 and they seem for the first time to blend with their fellows when their undistinguished dust mixes with the dust of others in the common grave4 ,we are to think of a person who has no ties with any of his fellow-creatures1 who has broken such ties as bound him to them1 or is of that morbid and unnatural humour that makes all intercourse with others distasteful4 ,we are to think more especially of one who chooses this life of solitariness in order to follow out his own desire rather than from any necessity of circumstance or disposition2 one who finds his pleasure in ignoring mankind1 and wishes for intercourse with them only that he may vent his spleen against them2 in a word1 we are to think of a ,misanthrope4 ,we must be careful in catching the precise idea1 because there are men who shut themselves off from their kind1 rightly or wrongly1 in order to seek the common welfare4 ,a student or an inventor1 sometimes even a teacher or a preacher1 will find the solitude of the study or the laboratory the only condition on which he can accomplish the work to which he is called4 ,the loss of domestic life or of social pleasures1 the withdrawal from all the kindly ways of men1 may be a positive pain to him1 a cross which he bears for the direct good of those whose company he forswears1 or for the cause of ,truth1 in whose service alone it is possible to permanently benefit his fellows4 ,such a separation as this--painful1 difficult1 unrewarded--we must exclude from the intention of our text1 although possibly our text might convey a warning even to these benevolent eremites1 that unless the heart is kept warm by human sympathies1 unless the mind is kept in touch with the common cares and joys of our kind1 the value of even intellectual work will be considerably diminished1 while the worker himself must inevitably and perhaps needlessly suffer4 ,but1 on the whole1 we must except these nobler instances of isolation1 if we would feel the full force of the judgment which is pronounced in the text4 ,the misanthrope is one who has no faith in his fellows1 and shrinks into himself to escape them2 who pursues his own private ends1 avoiding all unnecessary speech with those who are around him1 living alone1 dying unobserved1 except for the mischief which consciously or unconsciously he does to those who survive him4 ,such an one is aptly described as showing his teeth#dij in an angry snarl against all the approaches of a true wisdom4 ,shakespeare might have had this proverb before him in that grim delineation of ,richard the ,third1 who boasts that he has neither pity1 love1 nor fear4 ,he was1 he had been told1 born with teeth in his mouth4 ,and so ,i was1 he exclaims2 which plainly signified ,that ,i should snarl1 and bite1 and play the dog4 ,and then he explains his terrible character in these significant lines3-- ,i have no brother1 ,i am like no brother3 ,and this word ,love1 which greybeards call divine1 ,be resident in men like one another1 ,and not in me2 ,i am myself alone4#dia ,yes1 ,love can only exist among men who are like one another2 and no more damning indictment can be brought against a human being than this1 that he is himself alone4 ,the truth is that every man is not only a self1 a personality1 but he is a very complex being made up of many relations with other men4 ,he is a son1 a brother1 a friend1 a father1 a citizen4 ,suppose him to be stripped of all sonship1 brotherhood1 friendship1 fatherhood1 and citizenship2 there is left1 not a man1 but a mere self1 and that is his hideous condemnation4 ,in the same way1 a woman that is neither daughter1 nor sister1 nor wife1 nor friend1 nor ministrant1 does not deserve the grand name of woman2 she is a mere self1 a point of exigent and querulous desires4 ,the most appalling discovery in a great city is that multitudes have become mere selves1--hungry1 hollow1 ravening1 thirsty1 shrivelled selves4 ,the father and mother are dead1 or left far away1 probably never known2 no one is brother to them1 they are brothers to no one4 ,friend has no significance to their understanding1 or means only one who1 from most interested motives1 ministers to their craving appetites2 they are not citizens of ,london1 nor of any other city2 they are not ,englishmen1 though they were born in ,england1 nor have they any other nationality1--hideous1 clamorous1 esurient selves1 nothing more4 ,an old ,greek saying declared that one who lives alone is either a god or a wild beast2#dib while1 as we have already seen1 there are a few of the isolated ones who are isolated from noble and even ,divine motives1 the vast majority are in this condition because they have fallen from the level of humanity into the roving and predatory state of wild animals1 that seek their meat by night and lurk in a lonely lair by day4 ,the sound wisdom against which the isolated rage is nothing less than the kindly law which makes us men1 and ordains that we should not live to ourselves alone1 but should fulfil our noble part as members one of another4 ,the ,social ,instinct is one of two or three striking characteristics which mark us out as human3 a man by himself is only an animal1 and a very poor animal too2 in size he is far beneath the greatest of the creatures that inhabit land and sea2 he is not as swift as the winged denizens of the air2 his strength in proportion to his bulk is debility compared with that of the tiniest insects4 ,his distinction in the creation1 and his excelling dignity1 are derived from the social relations which make him in combination strong1 in the intercourse of speech and thought1 wise1 and in the loving response of heart to heart1 noble4 ,if by some unhappy accident a human being wanders early from his place into the forests1 is suckled by wild beasts1 and grows up among them1 the result is an animal inconceivably repulsive1 fierce1 cunning1 and ugly2 vulpine1 but without the wolf's agile grace2 bearish1 but without the bear's slow-pacing dignity4 ,the sound wisdom is the wisdom of the ,creator1 who from the beginning determined that it is not good for men to live alone1 and marked ,his conception of the unity which should bind them together by the gift of the woman to the man1 to be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh4 ,it becomes therefore a necessity to every wise human being to recognise1 to maintain1 and to cultivate all those wholesome relationships which make us truly human4 ,as a bird that wandereth from her nest1 so is a man that wandereth from his place4#dic ,sometimes when a great ship is far off in mid-ocean1 a tired land-bird will fall panting and exhausted upon the deck3 the wings can beat no longer2 the eyes glaze2 and the eager wanderer fails and dies4 ,the true bird-life is the life of the woods1 of the toilsomely-woven nest1 of the mate and the brood and the fledglings4 ,in the same way on those ocean steamers--ay1 and in many a weary bye-path and lonely desert of the earth--may be found men who have broken away from the ties which formed their strength and their truer being1 and now fall1 faint and purposeless1 to languish and to die4 ,for true human life is the life of our fellows1 of the diligent laborious housebuilding1 of the home1 of the young1 of the rising nestlings which are to form the next link in the long chain of the generations4 ,neighbourliness is the larger part of life2 we are not to go to our distant brother's house in the day of our calamity1 for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off4#did ,our life is rich and true and helpful just in proportion as we are entwined with those who live around us in bonds of mutual respect and consideration1 of reciprocal helpfulness and service1 of intimate and intelligent friendship4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that there is neighbourliness and neighbourliness4 ,our relation to our neighbours may be that of mere busybodies1 tattlers1 and whisperers2 it may be devoid of tact and consideration3 there is need therefore of a warning to hold back thy foot from thy neighbour's house2 lest he be sated with thee1 and hate thee4#die ,but this possible abuse does not affect the broad and salutary principle3 we are meant to live in one another2 our nature can realize itself1 and accomplish its mission1 only in generous and noble relations with those who are about us4 ,the home is at the foundation of all2 a good son or daughter will generally make a good man or woman2 good brothers will prove good citizens1 good sisters good ministrants and teachers to the poor and the ignorant2 good fathers will be the best rulers in ,church and ,state4 ,the home will be the preparation for the larger life of the town1 or the social circle1 or the state4 ,and thus from the cradle to the grave no man should live alone1 but every one should be a member of a larger body1 holding a definite place in a system or organism1 depending on others1 with others depending on him4 ,nerves should run through the body politic1 motor nerves and sensory nerves2 the joys and pains of a community should be shared1 the activities of a community should be united4 ,no one should live to himself2 all should live1 and rejoice to live1 in the great co-operative society of the world1 in which personal interests are mutual interests and the gains of each are the gains of all4 ,but we can hardly probe to the depths of this ,proverbial ,philosophy without becoming aware that we are touching on an idea which is the mainspring of ,christianity on its earthly and visible side4 ,we seem to have detected in all the preceding discussion echoes1 however faint1 of the ,apostolic teaching which gave practical shape and body to the work of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the relation of ,christ1 as the ,son of ,god1 to the human race as a whole1 immediately opened up the possibility of a world-wide society in which all nations1 all classes1 all castes1 all degrees1 all individualities1 should be not so much merged as distinctly articulated and recognised in a complete and complex whole4 ,the kingdom of heaven1 while borrowing its terminology from earthly kingdoms1 was unlike any one of them because it was to include them all4 ,into that kingdom all the peoples1 nations1 and languages should pass4 ,the ,catholic ,church1 as the first attempt to realize this grand idea1 presented for a time a certain faint and wavering reflection of the image in the heavens4 ,the fault of seeking the unity of the race in a priesthood instead of in the people was of course a fatal one to its own ultimate success1 but at least one great service was rendered to humanity2 the idea became familiar of a ,unity1 in which the narrower unities of the family1 the social circle1 and the nation were to find their completion4 ,and when the intelligence and the faith of men broke with the ,catholic ,church1 it was not a breach with the ,catholic idea1 but merely a transition to a nobler and a more living realization of the idea4 ,at present the idea is daily clearing and assuming vaster proportions2 humanity is seen to be one2 the ,great ,father presides over a family which may be sundered1 but cannot be really parted2 over a race which is divided1 but not actually separated4 ,strange and rapturous have been the emotions of men as they have entered into the realization of this idea1 and the thrill of their vast fellowship has passed through their hearts4 ,sometimes they have turned away in bitterness of revolt from the ,christian ,church1 which with harsh dogmatisms and fierce anathemas1 with cruel exclusiveness and sectarian narrowness1 seems rather to check than to further the sublime thought of the ,one ,father1 of whom all the family is named in heaven and in earth4 ,but whatever justification there may be for complaint against the ,church1 we cannot afford to turn our thoughts from the ,son of ,man1 who has redeemed the race to which we belong1 and who1 as the ,divine ,power1 is alone able to carry out in effect the great conception which ,he has given us in thought4 ,and now ,i am going to ask you for a moment to consider how the text reads in the light of the work and the presence and the person of ,jesus ,christ1 who has come to gather together in one those that are scattered abroad4 ,the person of ,christ is the link which binds all men together2 the presence of ,christ is the guarantee of the union2 the work of ,christ1 which consists in the removal of sin1 is the main condition of a heart-unity for all mankind4 ,when therefore you put your trust in ,christ and your sinful nature is subdued1 you are incorporated into a body of which ,he is the head1 and you must pass out of the narrow self-life into the broad ,christ-life2 you can no longer live for yourself alone1 because as the member of a body you exist only in relation to all the other members4 ,but1 it is said1 am ,i not to seek my own salvation1 and then to work it out with fear and trembling8 am ,i not to withdraw from the world1 and to labour hard to make my calling and election sure8 ,in a certain sense1 the answer to that question is1 ,yes4 ,but then it is only in a certain sense2 for you make sure of your own salvation precisely in proportion as you are really incorporated into ,christ1 and are made a genuine member of the body3 as ,st4 ,john says1 ,we know that we are passed from death unto life because we love the brethren1 and if we walk in the light we have fellowship one with another1 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth us from all sin4 ,we work out our salvation therefore only by losing the self in others2 we withdraw from the world and make our calling sure1 just as our thoughts become identified with ,god's thoughts1 and as our lives are passed in cheerful and victorious service4 ,if1 then1 on the ground of our humanity we are cautioned against separating ourselves1 because by so doing we set our teeth against all sound wisdom1 on the ground of our ,christianity we must be warned not to separate ourselves1 because that means to harden our hearts against the faith itself4 ,when we say to ourselves1 ,we will live our ,christian life alone1 that is equivalent to saying1 ,we will not live the ,christian life at all4 ,we do not know what the life in heaven may be1--though from the casual glimpses we obtain of it1 we should say that it is a great social gathering1 at which we shall sit down with ,abraham and all the saints of ,god1 a kind of marriage festivity to celebrate the union of the ,lord with ,his bride1--but it is plain that the ,christian life1 as it is revealed to us here1 must be the life of a community1 for it is likened to a vine1 from which all dead branches are cut off1 and plainly all cut-off branches are dead4 ,but1 say many people amongst us1 we put our faith in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 we trust to ,him2 why should you impose any further conditions8 ,do they put their faith in ,him8 ,does not faith imply obedience8 ,did ,he not require ,his disciples to be united in a fellowship1 and did ,he not give ,his body and ,his blood as a symbol of this fellowship1 and command them to take the symbols in remembrance of ,him until ,he comes8 ,are these isolated believers obeying ,him1 or are they not cutting at the root of ,his glorious purpose of human fellowship in the ,divine ,head8 ,and if they are thus breaking ,his expressed commandment1 has ,he not warned them that ,he will say1 ,i never knew you1 depart from ,me1 although they have taught in ,his name1 and even cast out devils and done many wonderful works8 ,and in thus reminding you of our ,lord's thought1 ,i am not speaking only of what we call the fellowship of the ,church2 for there are many who are merely nominal members of the ,church1 and though their names are enrolled they separate themselves and live the life of unhallowed isolation1 just as they did before they professedly entered into the ,christian society4 ,this is a larger question than that of ,church membership2 ,church membership derives its vast importance from being a part of this larger question4 ,will you1 therefore1 let me close with a personal appeal addressed to each one of you8 ,you know that the ,son of ,man would make men one2 you know that ,he calls ,his disciples into a holy family of mutual love and service1 so that men may know that they are ,his1 and may recognise ,him because they love one another4 ,are you venturing to disregard ,his commandment and to frustrate ,his will by separating yourself for your own desire8 have you fallen out of all relations with ,his family1 so that the sonship1 the brotherhood1 the friendship1 the fatherhood1 the citizenship1 of the heavenly kingdom are as good as meaningless to you8 ,if so1 may ,i say in the words of the text1 you are setting your teeth against all sound wisdom8 ,,footnotes3 #dij ,see note on in ,lecture ,,xv41 p4 #bje4 #dia ,,iii4 ,king ,henry ,,vi41 ,act v41 ,sc4 #f4 #dib 4 #dic ,prov4 xxvii4 #h4 #did ,prov4 xxvii4 #aj4 #die ,prov4 xxv4 #ag4 ,,xix4 ,,human ,,freedom4 ,the foolishness of man subverteth his way2 ,and his heart fretteth against the ,lord4--,,prov4 xix4 #c4 ,there is such a valuable expansion and commentary on this proverb in the book of ,ecclesiasticus that it seems worth while to quote it in full3 ,say not1 it is through the ,lord that ,i fell away1 for the things ,he hates thou shalt not do4 ,say not1 it is ,he that caused me to err1 for ,he has no use for a sinful man4 ,every abomination the ,lord hates1 neither is it lovely to those that fear ,him4 ,he ,himself at the outset made ,man1 and left him in the power of his own control1 that1 if thou wilt1 thou shouldst keep ,his commandments1 and to do faithfully what is pleasing to ,him4 ,he set fire and water before thee1 that thou shouldst stretch out thy hand to which thou wilt4 ,in front of men is life and death1 and whichever a man pleases shall be given to him4 ,because wide is the wisdom of the ,lord2 ,he is mighty in power1 beholding all things2 and ,his eyes are upon them that fear ,him1 and ,he ,himself will take note of every work of man4 ,he never enjoined any one to do wickedly1 and ,he never gave to any one licence to sin4#dif ,it is our constant tendency to claim whatever good we do as our own doing1 and to charge whatever evil we do on causes which are beyond our control1--on heredity1 on circumstances of our birth and upbringing1 or even on ,god4 ,the ,scriptures1 on the other hand1 regard all our good deeds as the work which ,god works within us1 when our will is given to ,him1 while all our evil is ascribed to our own foolish and corrupt will1 for which we are1 and shall be1 held responsible4 ,this is certainly a very remarkable contrast1 and we shall do well to take account of it4 ,it is not necessary to run into any extreme statement1 to deny the effects either of taints in the blood which we receive from our parents1 or of early surroundings and education1 or even the enormous influence which other people exercise over us in later life2 but when all allowance is made for these recognised facts1 the contention of the text is that what really subverts our lives is our own folly1--and not uncontrollable circumstances1--and our folly is due1 not to our misfortune1 but to our fault4 ,now we will not attempt to deal with all the modifications and reservations and refinements which ingenuity might offer to this doctrine2 however charity may require us to make allowance for others on the ground of disadvantages1 it is questionable whether we help them1 and it is certain that we weaken ourselves1 by turning attention constantly from the central fact to the surrounding circumstances2 we will therefore try to steadily look at this truth of ,individual ,responsibility1 and lay it to heart4 ,when we have acquitted ourselves of blame1 and have obtained a discharge in the forum of our own conscience1 it will be time to seek other causes of our guilt1 and to fret against the ,lord4 ,but before we turn inwards and appeal to our own consciousness1 may we not observe how absurd it is that the ,lord should be charged with responsibility for our sins8 ,what do we know of the ,lord except that ,he hates and abominates sin8 ,it is as the ,hater of sin that ,he is revealed to us in ever-clearer forms from the first page of revelation to the last4 ,but more1 the most powerful proof that we possess of ,his existence is to be found in the voice of conscience within us2 we instinctively identify ,him with that stern monitor that denounces so vigorously and unsparingly all our offences against holiness4 ,the ,god of revelation is from the first declared to be ,he who will by no means clear the guilty1 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children4 ,the ,god of conscience is by the very nature of the case identified with the uncompromising sentence against evil2 is it not then obviously inconsistent to lay our sins to the charge of ,god8 ,we are more assured of ,his ,holiness than of ,his omnipotence2 we cannot therefore bring ,his omnipotence to impeach ,his holiness4 ,we see ,him as the ,avenger of sin before we see ,him in any other capacity2 we cannot therefore bring any subsequent vision of ,him to discredit the first4 ,it is surely the dictate of plain common sense1 as ,st4 ,james says1 that ,god cannot be tempted with evil1 and ,he ,himself tempteth no man3 but each man is tempted1 when he is drawn away by his own lust1 and enticed4 ,then the lust1 when it hath conceived1 beareth sin3 and the sin1 when it is full grown1 bringeth forth death4#dig ,now our actual responsibility for our own sins1 and the troubles which result from them1 will perhaps come out in the clear light of conscience1 if we regard our conduct in the following way4 ,we must make an appeal to consciousness4 ,there are actions which1 consciousness tells us1 rest entirely on our own choice1 and concerning which no sophistry1 however ingenious1 can furnish an adequate exculpation4 ,there was in these cases1 as we well remember1 the plain offer of an alternative ,fire or ,water1 ,life or ,death4 ,we knew at the time that we were equally able to take either of them2 we felt no compulsion2 there was1 it is true1 a great tumult of conflicting motives1 but when the motives were balanced and the resulting verdict was declared1 we were perfectly conscious that we could1 if we chose1 reverse the verdict and give our judgment against it4 ,our first deviations from truth1 from purity1 from charity1 come up before us as we reflect2 the struggle which went on survives vividly in memory2 and when we yielded to the evil power we were conscious at the time1 as we remember still1 that our will was to blame4 ,as the lie glided from the lips1 as the unhallowed thought was allowed to pass into act1 as the rein was thrown on the neck of the evil passion1 we knew that we were doing wrong1 we felt that by an adequate exercise of the will we could do right4 ,cast your eye back on the steps by which your character was formed1 on the gradual destruction of your finer feelings1 on the steady decline of your spiritual instincts1 on the slow deadening and searing of your moral sense4 ,do you not remember how deliberately you submitted to the fascinations of that dangerous friend1 whom your conscience entirely disapproved8 how wilfully you opened and perused the pages of that foul book1 which swept over your soul like a mud-torrent and left its slimy sediment there ever after8 how you consciously avoided the influence of good people1 made every excuse to escape the prayer1 the reading1 the sermon1 which was to you a conscience-stirring influence1 an appeal of ,god to the soul8 ,as you retrace those fatal steps1 you will be surprised to discover how entirely your own master you were at the time1 although the evil deeds done then have forged a chain which limits your freedom now4 ,if at any of those critical moments some one had said to you1 ,are you free to do just which of the two things you please8 you would have replied at once1 ,why1 of course ,i am4 ,indeed1 if there had been any compulsion to evil1 you would have rebelled against it and resisted it4 ,it was really the complete liberty1 the sense of power1 the delight in following your own desire1 that determined your choice4 ,the evil companion persuaded1 your conscience dissuaded1 neither compelled2 when the balance hung even you threw the weight of your will into the scale4 ,the book lay open2 curiosity1 prurience1 impurity1 bade you read2 your best conviction shamed you and called you away3 when the two forces pulled even1 you deliberately gave your support to the evil force4 ,the solemn voice of prayer and worship called you1 moving you with mystical power1 waking strange desires and hopes and aspirations2 the half-mocking voice of the earth was also in your ear1 tempting1 luring1 exciting1 and when the sounds were about balanced1 you raised up your own voice for the one and gave it the predominance4 ,or if now in the bondage of evil you can no longer realize that you were once free1 you can look at others who are now where you were then2 notice even when you try to tempt your younger companions into evil1 how the blush of shame1 the furtive glance1 the sudden collapse of resistance1 plainly proves that the action is one consciously determined by an evil choice2 notice how your first blasphemies1 your first devil-born doubts1 suggestions1 and innuendoes1 bring the pained expression to the face1 and raise a conflict which the will has to decide4 ,in this appeal to consciousness or to observation we must be scrupulously honest with ourselves2 we must take infinite pains not to garble the evidence to suit a foregone conclusion or to excuse an accomplished fall4 ,i think we may say that when men are honest with themselves1 and in proportion as they are pure and innocent1 and not yet bound hand and foot by the bondage of their own sins1 they know that they have been free1 that in the face of all circumstances they still stood uncommitted2 that if they yielded to temptation it was their own foolishness that subverted their way4 ,but now we may pass from these inward moral decisions which have determined our character and made us what we are1 to the ordinary actions which form the greater part of our everyday conduct4 ,here again we are generally inclined to take credit for every course which has a happy issue1 and for every unfortunate decision to cast the blame on others4 ,we are reminded1 however1 that our misfortunes are generally the result of our own folly2 we are too impatient1 too hasty1 too impetuous1 too self-willed4 ,desire without knowledge is not good1 and he that hasteth with his feet misseth the way4#dih ,if we look back upon our mistakes in life1 it is surprising to see how many were due to our own headstrong determination to follow our own way1 and our complete disregard of the prudent counsels which our wiser friends ventured to offer us4 ,the way of the foolish is right in his own eyes3 but he that is wise hearkeneth unto counsel4#dii ,where there is no counsel1 purposes are disappointed3 but in the multitude of counsellors they are established4#ejj ,hear counsel1 is the command of this chapter1 and receive instruction1 that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end4#eja ,every purpose is established by counsel1--affairs of state1 whether civil#ejb or military1#ejc--;and so by counsel a man is made strong and is able to carry out the warfare of his own personal life4#ejd ,it is well for us therefore not only to accept counsel which is proffered to us1 but to be at pains to get it1 for it often lies1 like the waters of a well1 deep down in a man's mind1 and requires some patience and skill in order to elicit it4#eje ,our false steps are due to a rash precipitancy which prevents us from looking at the question on all its sides1 and learning the views of those who have had experience and know4 ,the calamities which befell us were foreseen by many onlookers1 and were even foretold by our friends1 but we could accept no advice1 no warning4 ,and while therefore it is perfectly true that our own judgment was not sufficient to ward off the evil or prevent the faux pas1 we are none the less to blame1 our own foolishness has none the less subverted our way1 for it was our own fault that we refused to be advised1 it was our own incredible folly that made us form so wrong an idea of our wisdom4 ,suppose then that in our retrospect of life and in the estimation of our errors1 we mark off all those sins for which our conscience duly charges us with direct responsibility1 and all those blunders which might have been avoided if we had wisely submitted to more prudent judgments than our own1 what is there that remains8 ,can we point out any group of actions or any kind of errors which are yet unaccounted for1 and may possibly be charged on some other person or thing than ourselves8 ,is there yet some opening by which we may escape responsibility8 ,are there any effectual and valid excuses that we can successfully urge8 ,now it appears that all these possible excuses are netted and completely removed--and every avenue of escape is finally blocked--by this broad consideration2 ,god is at hand as the wisest of ,counsellors1 and we might by simple appeal to ,him1 and by reverently obeying ,his commandments1 avoid all the evils and the dangers to which we are exposed4 ,so far from being able to excuse ourselves and to lay the blame on ,god1 it is our chief and all-inclusive fault1 it is the clearest mark of our foolishness1 that we do not resort to ,him for help1 but constantly follow our own devices2 that we do not rely upon ,his goodness1 but idly fret against ,him and all ,his ordinances4 ,there are many devices in a man's heart1 but over against these feeble1 fluctuating1 and inconsistent ideas of ours is the counsel of the ,lord1 which shall stand4#ejf ,the fear of the ,lord tendeth to life3 and he that hath it shall abide satisfied2 he shall not be visited with evil4#ejg ,there is a way of life1 there is a plain commandment1 a law of ,god's appointing3 ,he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul3 but he that is careless of his ways shall die4#ejh ,it is simply our own carelessness that is our ruin2 if we would pay the slightest heed1 if there were one grain of seriousness in us1 we should be wise1 we should get understanding1 and so find good in the salvation of the soul2#eji we should not1 as we so often do1 hear instruction1 only to err from the words of knowledge4#eaj ,we may wonder at the strong conviction with which this truth was urged even under the ,jewish law2 it may seem to us that the requirements then were so great1 and the details so numerous1 and the revelation so uncertain1 that a man could scarcely be held responsible if he missed the way of life through inadvertence or defective knowledge4 ,yet even then the path was plain1 and if a man missed it he had but himself and his own folly to blame4 ,but how much more plain and sure is everything made for us6 ,our ,lord has not only declared the way1 but ,he is the ,way2 ,he has not only given us a commandment to keep1 but ,he has ,himself kept it1 and offers to the believing soul the powers of an inward life1 by which the yoke of obedience becomes easy1 and the burden of service is made light4 ,he has become the end of the law to every one that believeth4 ,he has made ,his offer of ,himself not only general1 but universal1 so that no human being can say that he is excluded1 or murmur that he is not able to keep his soul4 ,his word is gone out into all the world1 and while they who have not heard it1 being without a law are yet a law unto themselves1 and are responsible by virtue of that self-witness which ,god has given everywhere in ,nature1 in ,society1 and in the conscience of man1 how can we sufficiently emphasize our own responsibility1 to whom ,god has spoken in the latter days by ,his own ,son6 ,surely whoso despiseth the word bringeth destruction on himself4#eaa ,if even in that old and darker dispensation the light was so clear that it was chargeable to a man's own folly when he disobeyed1--and judgments were prepared for scorners1 and stripes for the backs of fools1#eab--what must come upon us who have the clearer light if we wilfully and foolishly disobey8 ,the counsel of the ,lord stands sure3 ,there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the ,lord4#eac ,no authority of wise men1 no sneers of wits1 no devices of the clever1 can in the least avail to set aside ,his mighty ordinance or to excuse us for disregarding it4 ,the horse is prepared against the day of battle3 but victory is of the ,lord4#ead ,there can be no evasion1 no escape4 ,he ,himself1 by ,his own invincible power1 will bring home to the hearts of the rebellious the evil of their rebellion1 and will send the cruel messenger against them4#eae ,does it not behove us to remember and to consider8 to remember our offences1 to consider our guilt and the ,lord's power8 ,here is a way of life marked out before you1 and there is the way of death2 here is the water held out to you1 and there is the fire2 and you may choose4 ,the way of life is in the ,gospel of ,god's dear ,son2 you know that its precepts are perfect1 converting the soul1 and that ,christ ,himself is holy1 such an one as the earth never bore before or since2 you know too that this ,holy ,one came to give ,his life a ransom for many1 that ,he invited all to come unto ,him1 and promised to all who came everlasting life4 ,you know that ,he did give ,his life a ransom1--as the ,good ,shepherd ,he gave ,himself for the sheep1 and then took again the life which ,he laid down4 ,you know that ,he ever liveth to make intercession for us1 and that ,his saving power was not exercised for the last time years and years ago1 but this very day1 probably just at the moment that ,i am now speaking to you4 ,the way is plain1 and the choice is free2 the truth shines1 and you can open your eyes to it2 the life is offered1 and you can accept it4 ,what pretext can you give for not choosing ,christ1 for not coming to the truth1 for not accepting the life8 ,is it not clear to you that if you refuse ,him that speaketh1 and your way is thus subverted1--as indeed it must be1--it is your own folly that is to blame8 ,you fret against the ,lord now1 and you charge ,him foolishly1 but some day you will see clearly that this is all a blind and a subterfuge2 you will admit that the choice was open to you1 and you chose amiss2 that life and death were offered to you1 and you preferred death4 ,if any question might be entertained about those who have only the light of conscience to guide them1 and have not heard of the direct relation of succour and support which ,god is ready to give to those who depend upon ,him1 there can be no doubt of the complete freedom of every human being1 who hears the message of the ,gospel1 to accept it4 ,you may put it aside1 you may decline to accept it on the ground of disinclination1 or because you consider the historical evidence insufficient1 but you will be the first to admit that in doing so you exercise your discretion and consciously choose the course which you take4 ,nay1 leaving all metaphysical discussion about the freedom of the will1 ,i put it to you simply1 ,can you not1 if you choose1 come to ,christ now8 ,oh1 hear counsel and receive instruction3 is not the ,spirit pleading with you1 counselling1 teaching1 warning you8 ,do not harden your heart1 do not turn away4 ,attend to ,christ now1 admit ,him now1 that you may be wise in your latter end4#eaf ,,footnotes3 #dif ,eccles4 xv4 #aa-bj4 #dig ,james i4 #ac-ae4 #dih ,prov4 xix4 #b4 #dii ,prov4 xii4 #ae4 #ejj ,prov4 xv4 #bb4 #eja ,prov4 xix4 #bj4 #ejb ,prov4 xi4 #ad4 #ejc ,prov4 xx4 #ah4 #ejd ,prov4 xxiv4 #e1 #f4 #eje ,prov4 xx4 #e4 #ejf ,prov4 xix4 #ba4 #ejg ,prov4 xix4 #bc4 #ejh ,prov4 xix4 #af4 #eji ,prov4 xix4 #h4 #eaj ,prov4 xix4 #bg4 #eaa ,prov4 xiii4 #ac4 #eab ,prov4 xix4 #bi4 #eac ,prov4 xxi4 #cj4 #ead ,prov4 xxi4 #ca4 #eae ,prov4 xvii4 #aa4 #eaf ,prov4 xix4 #bj4 ,,xx4 ,,idleness4 ,after the autumn gathering the slothful does not plough2 he asks in the harvest1 and there is nothing4--,,prov4 xx4 #d4 ,we have already in the sixth lecture caught a glimpse of the sluggard1 and in the ninth we have seen in passing that diligence in work is enjoined by the teacher2 but we must give a more concentrated attention to this subject if we would realize the stress which this book of ,wisdom lays on work as the grand condition of life in this earnest world4 ,they who will not work have no place in an order of things which is maintained by work1 and in which the toil itself is the great discipline of character and the preparation of joy4 ,it is no churlish or envious spirit which pronounces a doom on the idle1 but it is the very necessity of the case2 that idleness which in moments of excessive strain we so eagerly covet is1 if it is accepted as the regular and continuous state of the soul1 a more ruinous and miserable curse than the hardest labour4 ,by a law which we all break at our peril1 we are required to have an honest end and a strenuous occupation in our life2 and we are further required to labour diligently for the end1 and to spare no pains to achieve it4 ,we have many faculties lying dormant1 and we must wake them into activity2 we have many gifts half used or not used at all2 we must turn them all to account1 if we would be wholesome1 happy1 and in the true sense successful4 ,first of all1 let us look at the portrait of the sluggard as it is delineated in some of these proverbial sayings4 ,we see him in bed1 at the board1 in the house1 out of doors4 ,he will not get up in the morning2 he turns from side to side1 just like a door which swings backwards and forwards on its hinges1 but of course never gets any further4#eag ,yet a little sleep1 he says1 a little slumber1 a little folding of the hands in sleep4#eah ,or when at last he has brought himself to get up and to sit down to table1 he is too lethargic even to eat3 ,he buries his hand in the dish1 and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again2#eai or if he raises the morsel to his lips1 he does it with an air of indescribable languor and weariness4#ebj ,then the time comes for him to go out to his daily duties4 ,but he has a number of ingenious1 though utterly absurd1 excuses why he should not leave the house3 ,there is a lion in the streets1 he says1 a lion in the way2#eba ,there is a lion without2 ,i shall be murdered in the streets4#ebb ,when he is told that this is a delusion1 he is prepared to argue the matter1 and to show that his fear is well grounded2 he is quite scornful of all the people who assure him to the contrary1 because they have been out and seen for themselves3 ,the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men that can render a reason4#ebc ,and when at length he is launched on the business of the day1 arriving late1 his wits gone wool-gathering1 his will as inactive as his mind is inattentive1 he drags through every duty with the air of one who is walking through a hedge of thorns4#ebd ,where another person would proceed with easy alacrity1 he seems held back by invisible obstacles2 his garments are always getting caught in the briars2 there is not impetus enough to carry him over the slightest difficulty2 and after frequent and somnolent pauses1 the end of the day finds him more weary than the busiest1 though he has nothing to show but futile efforts and abortive results4 ,that is a complete picture of the sluggard4 ,we do not of course see him fully developed very often2 but we recognise at once the several tendencies in our own characters--the slothfulness1 the listlessness1 the idle procrastination1 the inertia--which may1 if unresisted and unconquered1 gradually bring us nearer to this finished portrait4 ,the result of this sluggishness must now be sketched4 ,love not sleep1 we are told1 lest thou come to poverty2 open thine eyes1 and thou shalt be satisfied with bread4#ebe ,the means of subsistence in this world are the result of labour2 toilers win them from the reluctant earth and sea2 the only condition on which we can partake in them is that we should toil1 either directly in producing the means of subsistence1 or indirectly in doing for the producers helpful service for which they are willing to exchange the fruits of their labour4 ,one who sleeps away the golden hours of work1 cast by slothfulness into a deep sleep1 has no claim whatever on the earth or the community for daily food2 he shall suffer hunger4#ebf ,and if by craft or chance he is able to get his bread without any service rendered to the workers1 he shall suffer from a soul-hunger more terrible than starvation--the unutterable ennui1 weariness1 disgust1 and self-loathing which an idle and useless life inevitably produces4 ,as the text reminds us1 there is an alternation of seasons4 ,there is a time to plough1 when the earth has yielded her full autumn fruits2 there is a time to sow2 there is a harvest4 ,if a man is too lazy to plough at the right time and to sow at the right time1 his fields will of course give him no crops3 ,slothfulness catcheth not his prey4#ebg ,nor must we think that ,god in any grudging spirit has ordered this law of the seasons4 ,the appetite which forces us to labour1 because our mouth craves it of us1#ebh the apparent rigour with which nature requires us to be up betimes and not to let the opportunity slip1 and the threat of poverty which hangs over our heads if we neglect her requirements1 are all parts of a beneficent law1--the law that by work itself our life is sweetened and our spirit is developed4 ,they are not to be congratulated who1 escaping the spur of appetite1 and liberated by the toil of others from the rigorous edicts of nature which require the laborious ploughing and sowing1 are enabled to eat the bread of idleness4 ,the hardest worker1 worn to the bone and ill-remunerated1 is really more enviable than they4 ,the abundance of food is a poor equivalent for the loss of discipline which the desire of food was designed to exact through honest and earnest work4 ,men come to us and say in effect1 ,behold after the autumn gathering we did not plough1 and we asked in harvest1 and got all that our hearts desired1 and we are constrained to pity rather than to congratulate them4 ,it is not good for men to slip through the laws of ,god and nature thus1 for their chastisement is heavier in the end than in the beginning4 ,the truth of this appears when we remember that a worse result of slothfulness than poverty is the spiritual rust1 decay1 and degradation which slothfulness itself implies3 ,the desire of the slothful killeth him1 for his hands refuse to labour2#ebi ,he also that is slack in his work is brother to him that is a destroyer4#ecj ,it is indeed a strange illusion which makes man desire idleness4 ,idleness is ruin2 the soul rusts away like the sword in ,hudibras1 which-- 444 ate into itself1 for lack ,of something else to hew and hack4 ,it is death1 it is deadly2 the idle soul slowly dies1 and spreads destruction around it4 ,it is the same with a country4 ,idleness is its ruin3 whether it be that the generosity of nature removes the necessity of work1 as in the ,south ,seas1 where the missionaries find one of their chief difficulties in the absolute laziness resulting from the softness of the climate and the fertility of the soil2 or that the vast accumulations of wealth procure idleness for its possessors1 and enforce idleness on thousands of the unfortunate unemployed1--the melancholy result ensues in the enervation of manhood and the corruption of womanhood4 ,on the other hand1 as ,thucydides observed in the case of ,attica1 a rigorous climate and a niggardly soil1 eliciting all the energies of the people in order to improve their condition or even to live1 have been found favourable to the development of a noble nationality4 ,slackness of work1 from whatever cause it may arise1 brings its victims into this sorrowful kinship with the destroyer4 ,it may be noted that the idle1 whether they be rich or poor1 are denominated vain persons1 and sensible people are cautioned solemnly to avoid their society1 as their emptiness is contagious1 and the habits which are quickly acquired in their company lead straight to ruin3 ,he that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread1 but he that followeth after vain persons is void of understanding2#eca ,he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough4#ecb ,the truth which is here enforced receives ample illustration in our own society4 ,two centuries ago ,daniel ,defoe defined the ,english as the most lazy diligent nation in the world4 ,hard work is common2 idleness is equally common4 ,our people are on the whole highly gifted1 and produce rapidly when they give their attention to their work2 but we seem to have a strange vein of dissoluteness and laziness running through us1 and consequently the worst and most shameful idleness is often found amongst the best workmen1 who through their own bad habits have missed their opportunities1 and become a burden to themselves and to the community4 ,in no country is the leisured class1 of those who do nothing at all1 or pass their aimless days in a round of engagements which are only strenuous idleness1 so large2 in no country is the unemployed or the pauper class so ruinously great in proportion to the population4 ,hence this curious paradox3 the foreigner hears that ,england is the richest and the most industrious country in the world2 he comes to our shores expecting to see cities of gold and fields teeming with produce4 ,on his arrival he becomes aware of a degrading poverty such as cannot be matched in the poorest country on earth2 he finds a vast population of the unemployed rich lounging in the streets and the parks1 and of the unemployed poor hanging about the doors of the innumerable drink-shops1 and infesting every highway and byway of the country4 ,he finds the land of the agricultural districts often lying idle and unproductive2 those who till it untaught1 ill-fed1 and discontented2 those who possess it discontented1 though well fed and instructed4 ,our subject does not lead us to inquire into the deeper causes of these anomalies1 but it leads us to this observation3 we are a lazy diligent nation because we have not yet learned1 or have forgotten1 that the thing most to be dreaded is not poverty1 but idleness2 and the thing most to be desired is not wealth1 but strenuous1 earnest1 and useful toil4 ,our desperate and eager work is not for the work's sake1 but in order to get rich2 our ambition is to be idle rather than to be employed1 to be raised above the necessity of labour which is our health by the possession of wealth which is our ruin4 ,we have cherished the fatal and foolish error that work was degrading1 and have ranked those highest who did the least4 ,where no oxen are1 we have said in our fastidious way1 the crib is clean1 forgetting the other side of the matter1 that much increase is by the strength of the ox4#ecc ,thus we have ignorantly despised the workers who make us rich1 looking down upon trade1 upon business1 and more than all upon manual labour2 and have with strange fatuity admired most those who were most useless1 whose peculiar boast would be that they never did a day's work in their lives4 ,happily now there are signs of a revolution in our thought4 ,we are beginning to see that work is good1 not for what it earns1 but for the occupation and the training which it gives to the body and the mind2 and that idleness is an evil1 not only where work is a necessity1 and the appetite craves it of us1 but everywhere and under all circumstances4 ,in useful employment we find our life2 in the sluggard's life we see our death4 ,we must observe then the good effects which result from honest and earnest toil4 ,but1 first1 we cannot help noticing what an important place is here given to agriculture4 ,this is not accidental to the time in which the book was written4 ,it is an eternal principle4 ,out of the soil comes our wealth2 by the soil therefore we live2 and accordingly ,god has ordained that in the tilling of the ground man shall find his wholesomest1 sweetest1 and most strengthening employment--that no community shall inwardly flourish when its agricultural life declines2 and that therefore the happiest and soundest society will be that in which the largest proportional number are engaged in producing the fruits of the earth1 and are directly and vitally attached to their mother soil4 ,he that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread4#ecd ,when a nation is in the case of the sluggard1 when you pass by its fields and its vineyards and see them grown over with thorns and nettles and its stone walls broken down1 you will find ,pauperism coming as a robber1 and ,want1 gaunt and hideous1 stalking through the land like an armed man4#ece ,be thou diligent1 therefore we are told1 to know the state of thy flocks1 and look well to thy herds--7take care that no foolish pride or negligence prevent you from seeing that the agricultural life is properly maintained1 for it is the only sure basis of prosperity72 riches are not for ever1 and even the government of kings does not endure to all generations4 ,but in the sweet ordinances of nature the great ,giver provides ,his unfailing wealth3 ,the hay is carried1 and immediately the tender grass begins to grow again1 and even the barren mountains yield their herbs for ingathering4 ,the lambs appear every spring with their wool for our clothing1 and the field will maintain goats equal in value to its own price4 ,and from these miraculous sources of eternal reproduction our food and our maintenance are to be drawn4#ecf ,thus at the foundation of all industries is the agricultural industry4 ,at the root of all social and economical questions is the land question4 ,when you wish to commend diligence and to discourage idleness in a nation that is lazy diligent1 the first thing is to inquire into the condition or the use of the land4 ,the land is ,god's gift to a people4 ,english land is ,god's gift to the ,english people4 ,if it is misapplied1 ill-used1 neglected2 if it does not produce its full tale of wealth2 if it does not support its full burden of living creatures1 and give employment to its full number of hands1 we are flying in the face of ,god's ordinances2 we must not expect to prosper2 ,his gracious will is frustrated1 and we must have the shame and sorrow of seeing our million of paupers1 and our second million of enforced idlers1 and our myriads of lazy cumberers of the ground1 and our whole population disorganized and unsettled1 torn with the frenzy of insane work1 or gangrened with the corruption of destroying idleness4 ,for the gifts of ,god are without repentance1 and the abuse of ,his gifts is without remedy4 ,but turning now to the good effects which result from honest and earnest toil1 we are taught to distinguish three more particularly--plenty1 power1 and personal worth4 ,first1 ,plenty4 ,the soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing1 but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat4#ecg ,nor must we think that diligence is only manual2 it is also mental4 ,it implies thought1 forethought1 planning1 arranging4 ,we have a contrast drawn between the really diligent man1 whose prudence foresees1 and whose reflection orders his work for the best ends1 and the fussy1 unreflecting activity of one who is always busy1 but never accomplishes anything4 ,it is only the diligence of the first kind that leads to the desired end2 the diligence of mere restlessness is not much better than idleness4 ,we learn that the thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness1 but every one that is hasty hasteth only to want4#ech ,effectual labour implies thought2 only a wise man1 with all his faculties brought into full and harmonious play1 can work with any good result1 or can thriftily use the fruits of his labour2 a foolish1 thoughtless1 witless person may work hard and earn a good deal of money1 but it is gone even faster than it came4 ,thus there is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise1 but a foolish man swalloweth it up4#eci ,there are exceptions1 no doubt2 but the general rule is borne out by experience1 that they who honestly and earnestly use the gifts of mind and body which ,god has given them1 obtain the things which are needful in this life1 if not to overflowing1 yet in sufficiency2 and where means fail we generally have to admit that our own industry or prudence was at fault4 ,then1 secondly1 it is industry rather than genius which commends us to our fellow-men1 and leads us to positions of influence and power3 ,seest thou a man diligent in his business8 he shall stand before kings1 he shall not stand before mean men2#edj ,the hand of the diligent shall bear rule1 but the slothful shall be put under task-work4#eda ,it is this golden faculty of persistence1 concentration1 diligence1 which makes every great ruler and leader of men1 and raises even the very ordinary person out of the drudgery of mere task-work into the dignity of large and noble and delightful toil4 ,for1 thirdly1 it is diligence1 the capacity of taking pains1 that gives to a man his actual worth1 making him compact and strong and serviceable3 ,the precious substance of men is to be diligent4#edb ,it is the quality itself which is all important4 ,the greatest gifts are of little worth1 unless there is this guarantee of the conscientious and intelligent employment of them4 ,while if the gifts with which ,god has endowed us are of the simplest order1 if we can only use a spade or a saw or a broom effectively1 that faculty diligently exercised is our value to the world2 and a great value it is--greater than the value of high genius which is erratic1 unbridled1 undirected1 and uncertain4 ,of every man or woman in this world the highest praise which can be uttered is that which underlies the commendation of the good wife3 ,she looketh well to the ways of her household1 and eateth not the bread of idleness4#edc ,there is the epitome of all trustworthy and honourable character4 ,we have been dwelling all this time on a simple virtue of a very mundane type4 ,but all that has been said may be immediately raised to a higher plane by one observation4 ,our ,lord and ,master was diligent about ,his ,father's business1 and has left on record this saying3 ,i must work the works of ,him that sent ,me while it is called to-day2 for the night cometh1 in which no one can work4 ,as each one of us comes under ,his influence and passes into ,his faith and obedience1 the joyful seriousness of our life-work deepens2 it is lit by the rich glow of a sunset glory4 ,we want to do diligently what our hand finds to do--to do it earnestly as unto the ,lord4 ,by patient and industrious exercise of every faculty which ,he has given us1 we wish to be prepared for any task which ,he may appoint here or hereafter4 ,some of us ,he only apprentices in this world2 and according to the faithfulness with which we discharge our humble and unnoticed duties will be the service to which ,he will one day appoint us4 ,others are called out of apprenticeship into the rough and eager work of the journeyman1 and ,his eye is always upon us as ,he tries us to find whether we may ever be appointed over one1 or five1 or ten cities4 ,a few supreme souls have been called even on earth to shape1 to create1 to control2 a ,paul1 an ,augustine1 a ,luther1 can work with an emancipated hand4 ,but the law is one all through the workshops1 the fields1 the vineyards of our ,lord4 ,the diligent shall stand before ,him1 and the slothful shall be shamed4 ,he that does not plough will not reap4 ,wasted opportunities vanish for ever1 and leave only their doleful record in the emasculated and nerveless soul4 ,,footnotes3 #eag ,prov4 xxvi4 #ad4 #eah ,prov4 xxiv4 #cd4 #eai ,prov4 xix4 #bd4 #ebj ,prov4 xxvi4 #ae4 #eba ,prov4 xxvi4 #ac4 #ebb ,prov4 xxii4 #ac4 #ebc ,prov4 xxvi4 #af4 #ebd ,prov4 xv4 #ai4 #ebe ,prov4 xx4 #ac4 #ebf ,prov4 xix4 #ae4 #ebg ,prov4 xii4 #bg4 #ebh ,prov4 xvi4 #bf4 #ebi ,prov4 xxi4 #be4 #ecj ,prov4 xviii4 #i4 #eca ,prov4 xii4 #aa4 #ecb ,prov4 xxviii4 #ai4 #ecc ,prov4 xiv4 #d4 #ecd ,prov4 xxviii4 #ai4 #ece ,prov4 xxiv4 #cj-cd4 #ecf ,prov4 xxvii4 #bc-bg4 #ecg ,prov4 xiii4 #d4 #ech ,prov4 xxi4 #e4 #eci ,prov4 xxi4 #bj4 #edj ,prov4 xxii4 #bi4 #eda ,prov4 xii4 #bd4 #edb ,prov4 xii4 #bg4 #edc ,prov4 xxxi4 #bg4 ,,xxi4 ,,wine4 ,he that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man3 ,he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich4 ,,prov4 xxi4 #ag4 ,the ,septuagint translation has an interesting addition to the proverb in xii4 #aa4 ,after ,he that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread1 but he that followeth after vain persons is void of understanding1 it adds1 ,he who is sweet in pastimes of wine-drinking shall leave dishonour in his strongholds4 ,drinking is the natural opposite of hard and honest work4 ,when the love of it takes possession of a man he is sure to become a useless and unproductive member of society4 ,a drunken people are in the end an incapable people2 their wealth declines1 their industries pass over to soberer rivals1 their qualities of brain and muscle gradually disappear4 ,this is partly owing to the deterioration of mind and body which results from the excessive use of stimulants2 but it is still more due to a wider cause3 drinking in all its branches is indulged in as a pleasure4 ,why do we not admit it8 why do we always try to present it in another light1 saying that it is for health's sake1 by a doctor's orders2 or for work's sake1 by a proved necessity8 ,is it not that we are secretly conscious of taking the drink because we like it8 ,we know it is a self-indulgence1 and we are a little ashamed of it2 and as self-indulgence is always fatal in the long run to all the habits and activities which men very properly honour1 we should dearly like to screen it under a decent pretext which might preserve our self-respect4 ,we know quite well that he that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man2 he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich4#edd ,drinking is after all only a pronounced symptom of a large vice--self-indulgence4 ,a great step is taken when we have learnt to quietly and candidly face this fact3 we drink1 as a society1 as a nation1--each of us drinks in public or in private1--simply because it is pleasant4 ,it is a habit governed by one supreme and absolute law--we like it4 ,we know quite well that alcohol is not a food2 that is proved by the most irrefragable scientific evidence2 and if in alcoholic drinks there are certain nutritive elements1 we could if we chose secure the benefit of them without any admixture of alcohol4 ,we know that in many cases the alcohol is actually deleterious1 that it produces specific and very terrible diseases1 that it lowers the tone of the whole system and makes us liable to all kinds of secondary troubles4 ,we may urge that alcohol is a medicine1 and a useful medicine2 but it is not as a medicine we use it4 ,if a doctor prescribes castor-oil1 or quinine1 we throw aside the medicine on the first opportunity1 often before it has done its work4 ,alcohol is the only medicine which we continue to take for a lifetime because the doctor prescribed it for a month4 ,would it not be better then to clear our minds of cant1 and to set the whole matter on its right basis8 ,intoxicants are drunk as a form1 as the most universal form1 of self-indulgence4 ,in some mysterious way1 for some mysterious reasons which we cannot fathom1 they gratify an instinctive appetite1 they are naturally and generally attractive1 they exercise a spell over the physical system4 ,if the taste is1 as some people say1 acquired1 it was acquired by mankind in prehistoric times1 and is part of our inherited constitution as men4 ,for instance1 ,mr4 ,gaule1 a police-court missionary in ,birmingham1 relates a recent experience1 one out of many in his fourteen years of labour4 ,a young married woman1 twenty-eight years of age1 died a shocking death from drinking4 ,up to the age of twenty-six she had been a teetotaller1 and did not know what the taste of drink was4 ,she was a leading member of the ,gospel ,temperance ,mission1 and sang the solos at the meetings4 ,then she was taken ill1 the doctor ordered brandy1 and it proved like the first taste of blood to a tame tiger4 ,she could never again be kept from it1 and at last it killed her4 ,the craving there must have been in the very blood4 ,we have a taste for these intoxicants1 latent or realized4 ,the stimulating influence is pleasant1 the narcotic influence is pleasant4 ,the immediate effect on the body is pleasant1 the immediate effect on the mind is pleasant4 ,drink produces a sense of great self-satisfaction1 promotes a flow of conversation and a feeling of good fellowship2 it quickens at first several of our mental faculties2 it excites the imagination1 and carries its devotee far away from the actual1 which is painful and harassing1 into a kind of ideal world1 which is cheerful and agreeable4 ,so powerful is its temporary influence that in the words of ,king ,lemuel there is positively a recommendation to give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish1 and wine unto the bitter in soul2 let him drink and forget his poverty1 and remember his misery no more4#ede ,an injunction which must not of course be mistaken for a ,divine precept1 but only for a reminder of the fact--a fact which may be observed without any moral judgment being passed upon it--that while men who require all their mental and moral faculties to be in full activity#edf must eschew the use of intoxicating drinks1 the dying1 the despairing1 the very poor and miserable1 may find a certain relief in drinking4 ,men who are in the enjoyment of health1 and wish to discharge effectively the day's duties1 have no excuse for the employment of an agent which only serves to lull the mind into forgetfulness and to reduce the pain of consciousness to the lowest possible point4 ,strange to say1 while men are thus naturally inclined to use intoxicants1 nature has been most lavish in pandering to their tastes4 ,there are trees in tropical climates which have but to be gashed1 and an intoxicating juice flows out ready at once for use4 ,almost every natural juice ferments if it is left alone4 ,the palm-tree1 the potato-plant1 the sugar-cane1 beet-root1 the cereals1 as well as the grape1 yield readily these intoxicating drinks1 at a surprisingly low cost4 ,very little human labour is needed1 very simple apparatus will suffice1 so that a very few enterprising firms can deluge a whole continent with fiery intoxicants4 ,we drink because we like it1--not for our good1 as we pretend1 but for our pleasure1 as we are half ashamed to confess4 ,the taste is natural to us1--natural to savages1 natural to civilised men1 natural1 so far as we know1 to men of all climates and all races4 ,and nature has made it singularly easy to gratify the taste4 ,now one might almost suppose that the conclusion to be drawn would be1 ,let us drink1 let us take this element as a good gift of ,god4 ,and that was the feeling of more primitive times4 ,in the ,vedas1 for instance1 ,indra is praised as reeling with the intoxicating ,soma which his worshippers have offered to him2 drunkenness is regarded as a kind of inspiration4 ,but no2 as wisdom asserts herself1 and demands a hearing1 she more and more decisively classes this taste for intoxicants with certain other tastes which are natural to us1 but none the less dangerous2 and she treats the bountiful provision which nature has made for the gratification of the taste as one of those innumerable temptations with which men in this present life are surrounded1--in conflict with which they prove their manhood1--by victory over which they acquire strength of moral principle and consistency in virtue4 ,as the reason within gathers power and authority1 and as her clear light is replenished by the revelation of ,divine ,wisdom1 all the spurious attractions of drinking are weakened1 the glamour is destroyed1 and the truth is recognised that wine is a mocker1 strong drink a brawler1 and whosoever erreth thereby is not wise2#edg more and more it appears that the power of wine is the power of the animal within us1 and that the widespread influence of it is a sign that the animal within us dies slowly2 we learn to measure the growth of reason by the degree of mastery which has been obtained over the low appetite2 and we understand that striking antithesis of the ,new ,testament religion1 ,be not drunk with wine1 wherein is excess1 but be filled with the ,spirit4 ,the way then in which we are brought to look at the drink question is this3 here is a powerful natural temptation1 a seduction which nature herself offers to the body1 a foe which always has a traitor in collusion with it inside the assaulted citadel4 ,this enemy is ingenious in its argumentation3 it approaches usually under the guise of a friend2 it says--and not without truth--that it comes to give pleasure to poor harassed and toilworn mortals2 it persuades them that it is a wholesome food1 and when that contention is shattered it would have them believe that it is a medicine4 ,when it has gained an entrance into the fortress1 by fair means or foul1 it at first proceeds very doucely1 and seems to justify its presence by numberless obvious benefits4 ,sometimes it will successfully hide all the evil it is working1 as if its purpose were to beguile new victims and to acquire a more unbounded sway over the old4 ,as religious men1 as spiritual beings1 whom ,god claims to become ,his children1 we are called upon to face this subtle1 powerful1 and all-persuasive foe4 ,we are to do our best to understand its ways--we look to science to help us and to teach us4 ,we are then to take every weapon within our reach to resist its approach1--argument1 persuasion1 entreaty2 we are to lose no opportunity of unveiling the tactics of the foe1 and rousing those who are imperilled to a sense of their danger2 then as ,christian citizens we are bound to use all the influence we possess to hold this terrible natural temptation within the straitest limits1 and to fortify all the powers of resistance in our fellow-men to the highest possible degree4 ,in such a crusade against the enemy of our race1 few things are more effectual than a vivid and accurate delineation of the effects which drink produces--such a delineation1 for instance1 as that which is given in chap4 xxiii4 #bi-ce4 ,let us proceed to examine this remarkable passage4 ,whose is ,oh8 whose is woe8 asks the ,teacher4 ,who is it whose constant and appropriate language is that of lamentation--the piteous cry of pain1 the agonised exclamation of remorse8 ,whose are contentions8 ,who is it that lives in an atmosphere of perpetual strife and loud quarrellings8 ,whose is groaning8--that sustained sigh of desponding and irremediable misery4 ,whose are causeless wounds8--not only the bruise and the gash which result from furious sparrings or unforeseen falls1 but also wounds of the spirit1 self-loathing1 and shame1 the thought of what might have been1 the realization of a ruined home1 and of suffering wife and little ones1 and the conviction that the evil can now never be undone4 ,whose is the darkling of the eyes8#edh ,who is it whose eyes have that horrible inflamed1 lack-lustre look1 which is the exact opposite of the light and clearness and sparkle proper to the human eye8 ,the answer to these questions is given in a sentence1 ,theirs who tarry over the wine1 theirs who go to try the mixture4 ,it is not of course suggested that all who drink wine1 nor even all who take it habitually1 fall into the horrible condition which has just been described2 this condition is the result of lingering over the drink1 spending hours in tippling1 devoting time and thought to tasting various brands and samples1 becoming a connoisseur of strong beverages1 allowing the subject to occupy an appreciable proportion of one's time4 ,it is not the use1 but the abuse1 of the thing which in this passage is reprobated4 ,but now we are reminded of the great difficulty which occurs in distinguishing between the use and the abuse4 ,there is no sharply-defined limit4 ,there is no mechanical monitor which at once reminds us1 ,here use ceases and abuse begins4 ,almost the only rule that can be given is1 that whenever the cup seems in the least degree attractive1 then danger is near and it is necessary to abstain4 ,look not on wine when it reddens1 when it gives its gleam in the cup2 it goes down so smoothly6 ,it is the peculiarity of this substance that it can only be taken safely when it has comparatively no attractions1 when it is taken under orders1 and as it were against the grain4 ,if it is really pleasant to us1 we can never tell where the pleasantness melts into a dangerous fascination1 where the colour and the sparkle and the agreeable tingle which make it pass so easily down the throat have become the lure and the spell of a poisonous reptile4 ,for this pleasant indulgence1 which seems to be perfectly innocent1 what is the issue of it8 ,its end--like a serpent it bites1 and like a basilisk it stings4 ,one evil result of it is that it rouses into perilous activity the dormant passions2 even pure men and women under this potent influence become impure4 ,the eyes which are excited with wine will turn readily to loose and degraded women4#edi ,the fall which might have been easily avoided in a state of sobriety will be inevitable when the reason is silenced1 the will enfeebled1 and the desire inflamed by this seductive poison4 ,another evil effect is that the sense of truth entirely disappears4 ,what a misleading maxim is that of the ,romans1 ,in vino veritas6 ,while it is a fact that the intoxicated man will blab many things which were best kept concealed1 there is nothing which deteriorates truthfulness so rapidly as the use of alcohol4 ,the drinker becomes crafty and deceitful and untrustworthy4 ,the miserable brain is haunted with chimras1 the imperious appetite suggests all kinds of subterfuges and evasions1 the very heart speaks frauds4 ,yes1 nothing could be more accurate than this3 the effect of drink is not so much to make the lips lie1 as to make the inner man essentially insincere and deceptive4 ,no man admits that he is a drunkard1 even to his own heart2 long after all his friends know it1 and are beginning to despair of him1 even when he has had several attacks of delirium tremens and is a confirmed dipsomaniac1 the most he will allow is that he has sometimes taken a little more than is good for him1 but so very little seems to upset him4 ,ah1 thine heart shall utter froward things1 i4e41 frauds4 ,every one who has had any dealings with the miserable victims of drink will sorrowfully confirm this statement4 ,the insecurity of the habit is incredible4 ,it leads to the destruction of every faculty which ,god has mercifully given us to protect us from danger and guide us through life4 ,the ready perception of things is marred1 the quick rallying of the attention is delayed1 the exercise of the understanding is prevented1 the will is paralysed1 the conscience dies4 ,thou shalt be as he who lieth down in the heart of the sea1--as one in a calenture who strides into the merciless waves under the impression that he is walking on flowery meadows4 ,thou shalt be as he that goeth to bed on the mast's head1--where the position is precarious even if the sea be perfectly calm1 but becomes sure destruction if the winds awake and the ship begins to climb large billows and to plunge down into their unquiet troughs4 ,and then1 worst of all1 when there is a temporary recovery from this abominable state of drunkenness1 and the feeble wails of repentance begin to be heard1 what can be more disconnected--more futile--more abject--more irrational than his words8 ,they have smitten me1 he says2 ,i have not been sick1--as if forsooth he were the victim of some violence offered to him by others1 instead of being the author of his own stripes2 as if he were quite right and well1 and the disease were not deep in his own passion-haunted heart4 ,they have stricken me1 he continues to whine1 ,i have not known it4 ,footpads have attacked him1 he would have us believe1 and that is the explanation of his begrimed and blood-smeared face1 his torn clothes1 and his empty pockets4 ,when shall ,i awake8 he mutters1 as the swimming sensation in the head1 and the unsteady stagger in his step1 remind him that he is not quite himself4 ,and then--is it possible8 ,yes1 his next remark is1 ,i will seek it again4 ,i will go and get another drink4 ,his miserable mind1 the victim and the mint of lies1 having persuaded him that all the mischief came from some cause other than himself1 and had nothing to do with the one degrading habit which really produced it1 he proposes at once to seek the very agent which is his undoing1 to heal his intoxication by getting drunk again4#eej ,this vivid and forcible picture of the miserable sufferings1 the contemptible vices1 and the helpless bondage which result from intoxicating drinks1 is all the more impressive because there is no attempt made to enforce total abstinence as a principle4 ,if however it is duly considered and understood1 it is very likely to produce total abstinence as a practice1 just as the object lesson of the drunken helot led every ,spartan youth to turn with unspeakable loathing from the embruting vice4 ,modest minds1 observing how the mighty are fallen1 how this one cause has ruined the strongest1 the best1 and the most attractive of their fellow-creatures1 insidiously leading them on1 mocking them1 and luring them into dangerous and poisonous marshes1 will be inclined to say1 as ,daniel said1 ,i will abstain2 ,i may be safe or ,i may not2 if ,i am safe all ,i gain is a certain amount of animal pleasure2 if ,i am not1 what ,i lose is health1 honour1 wealth1 even life itself1--not the body only1 but the soul too4 ,the gain from the use of these things is very measurable and insignificant2 the loss from their abuse is immeasurable1 and the passage from use to abuse escapes at once our observation and control4 ,but1 after all1 wisdom urges temperance in drinking only as a part of a much larger principle4 ,if temperance in drinking stands alone and unconnected with this larger principle1 it is a blessing of a very doubtful kind1 so doubtful indeed that the pharisaism1 the intolerance1 the dogmatism1 which are able to subsist with ,temperance in the limited sense1 have often been the most serious hindrance to temperance in its larger and nobler meaning4 ,it is the desire of pleasure which is at the root of the mischief3 ,he that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man4 ,men are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of ,god4#eea ,the appetites which are natural to us hold undisputed sway1 they are fleshly2 the great spiritual appetites1 which are supernatural1 are quite feeble and inoperative4 ,men ask for that which is pleasant1 and even when they become religious it is only to obtain pleasure1 a greater and a more lasting pleasure2 thus there is an intemperance1 which we call fanaticism1 even in religious beliefs and in religious practices4 ,but what men need is that the desire of ,god1 for ,his own sake1 should be so inflamed in them as to burn up all other desires4 ,and this desire can only be created by ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,the competing and manifold desires of pleasure can only be mastered and expelled when that great1 absorbing1 and embracing desire of ,god has been securely settled in the human heart by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,true temperance is really one of the ninefold fruits of the ,spirit1 and is of little value1 a mere spurious product1 unless it is accompanied by love1 joy1 peace1 longsuffering1 kindness1 goodness1 faithfulness1 and meekness4 ,such passages as we have been considering in the book of ,proverbs may give us a wholesome horror and hatred of drunkenness1 and may even lead us to a prudential temperance--they may even make us as sober as pious ,mohammedans or ,buddhists2 but if we are to become really temperate a higher power must intervene1 we must be born of the ,spirit4 ,is it not remarkable how nothing short of the highest remedy--the new birth--is effectual for curing even the slightest of human infirmities and sins8 ,,footnotes3 #edd ,prov4 xxi4 #ag4 #ede ,prov4 xxxi4 #f1 #g4 #edf ,prov4 xxxi4 #d1 #e4 #edg ,prov4 xx4 #a4 #edh ,the difficulty of the word 1 which means dimming1 is that in the only other place where it occurs 7,gen4 xlix4 #ab3 ,his eyes shall be red with wine1 and his teeth white with milk7 the redness is evidently regarded as an advantageous attribute4 ,but perhaps the explanation is to be sought in the fact that the immediate effect of wine upon the eye is to darken it in one sense1 and the ultimate effect is to darken it in another4 ,in the first moment of excitement the pupil of the drinker's eye dilates and flashes with a darkling fire2 but it is not long before the eye becomes heavy1 dim1 watery1 and maudlin4 ,it is in this last sense that we must understand the word here4 #edi ,prov4 xxiii4 #cc4 must1 as in xxii4 #ad1 be rendered strange women 7,bertheau74 ,the alternative rendering1 the strange1 or the rare 7,nowack7 is logically inadmissible1 because the verse is obviously describing the moral effects of drink1 and no one can say that to see strange or rare visions is a moral effect to be specially deprecated4 #eej ,the primary discomforts of an act of drunkenness1 says ,dr4 ,g4 ,w4 ,balfour1 are readily removed for the time by a repetition of the cause4 ,thus what has been an act may readily become a habit1 all the more readily that each repetition more and more enfeebles both the will and the judgment4--,art4 ,drunkenness in ,encycl4 ,brit4 #eea #b ,tim4 iii4 #d-- 1 pleasure-loving rather than ,god-loving2 which means1 not that men place pleasure before them consciously as a substitute for ,god1 but only that the instinctive desire of pleasure has not been mastered by the love of ,god4 ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,the ,,poor4 ,the rich and the needy meet together2 the ,lord is the maker of them all4--,,prov4 xxii4 #b4 ,he that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed1 for he giveth of his bread to the poor4--,,prov4 xxii4 #i4 ,he that oppresseth the poor1 it is for his increase2 he that giveth to the rich1 it is for want4--,,prov4 xxii4 #af4 ,rob not the poor because he is poor1 neither oppress the humble in the gate1 for the ,lord will plead their cause and despoil of life those that despoil them4--,,prov4 xxii4 #bb1 #bc4 ,if we would understand and lay to heart the very striking lessons of this book on the treatment of the poor1 it will be well for us to observe that there are four words in the ,hebrew original which are rendered by our ,english words poor or needy4 ,these words we will try to discriminate and to use with more exactness in the present lecture1 that we may not miss any of the teaching by the blur and obscurity of careless language4 ,first1 there is a word 77 for which we will reserve our ,english word poor2 it signifies a person who is weak and uninfluential1 but not necessarily destitute or even in want4 ,the poor are those who form the vast majority of every society1 and are sometimes described by the word masses4 ,secondly1 there is a word 77 which may be rendered needy4 ,it covers those who are in actual want1 people who through bereavement1 or infirmity1 or unavoidable calamity are unable to secure a sufficiency of the necessaries of life4 ,thirdly1 there is a word 77 which we may perhaps render by humble1 for though it more literally describes the afflicted and sad1 it contains within it a hint of moral commendation which suggests a transition from the idea of simple weakness and helplessness to that of patient and humble dependence on ,god4 ,lastly1 there is a word 77 which we will render destitute4 ,if we keep these notions--poor1 needy1 humble1 destitute--distinct1 and yet combined1 to form one conception1 we shall find that the proverbs before us refer to that large section of mankind who are in a worldly and material sense considered the least fortunate2 those to whom it is a lifelong effort merely to live2 those who have no margin of security on which to fall back in case of disaster or sickness2 those who are engaged in precarious employments or in casual labour2 those who may keep their heads above water by diligence and unremitting exertions1 but may at any time go under2 those who owing to this constant pressure of the elementary needs have but little leisure to cultivate their faculties1 and little opportunity to maintain their rights4 ,we are to think of the large class of persons who in more primitive times are slaves1 who in feudal times are serfs1 who in modern times are called the proletariate2 those in whose interest the laws of society have not hitherto been framed1 because they have not until quite recently been admitted to any substantial share in the work of legislation2 those who have always found it peculiarly difficult to secure justice1 because justice is a costly commodity1 and they have no means to spare1 since the destruction of the poor is precisely their poverty4#eeb ,we are not to think of the idle and the vicious1 who are so often classed with the poor1 because they1 like the poor1 are without means1--we must rigorously exclude these1 for they are not in the mind of the writer when he gives us these golden precepts4 ,we must remember that it is part of our peculiar ,english system1 the result of our boasted ,poor ,law1 to discredit the very word poverty1 by refusing to discriminate between the poor in the scriptural sense1 who are honourable and even noble1 and the pauper in the modern sense1 who is almost always the scum of a corrupt social order1 in four cases out of five a drunkard1 and in the fifth case the product of some one else's moral failings4 ,it requires quite an effort for us to see and realize what the ,scriptures mean by the poor4 ,we have to slip away from all the wretched associations of the ,poor ,house1 the ,poor ,law1 and the ,guardians4 ,we have to bring before our minds a class which in a wholesome state of society would be a small1 numerable minority1 but in our own unwholesome state of society are a large and well-nigh innumerable majority1--not only the destitute and the actually needy1 but all the people who have no land on which to live1 no house which they can call their own1 no reserve fund1 no possibility of a reserve fund1 against the unavoidable calamities and chances of life1 the people who are trodden down--who tread each other down--in the race of competition2 all those1 too1 who1 according to the godless dogma of the day1 must go to the wall because they are weak1 and must give up the idea of surviving because only the fittest must expect to survive4 ,there rise up before our imagination the toiling millions of ,europe--of ,england--worn1 pale1 despondent1 apathetic1 and resigned2 or bitter1 desperate1 and resentful2 not destitute1 though they include the destitute2 not needy1 though they include the needy2 but poor1 without strength except in combination1 and often when combined without light or leading4 ,i4 ,now the first thing we have to observe is that the poor1 in the sense we have tried to define1 are a special concern to the ,lord4 ,rob not the poor1 says the text1 because he is poor1 neither oppress the humble in the gate1 for the ,lord will plead their cause1 and despoil of life those that despoil them4 ,remove not the ancient landmark1 and enter not into the fields of the fatherless2 for their ,redeemer is strong1 ,he shall plead their cause against thee4#eec ,the ,lord will establish the border of the widow4#eed ,so intimate is the connection between the ,lord and ,his poor creatures that he that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his ,maker1 but he that hath mercy on the destitute honoureth ,him4#eee ,whoso mocketh the needy reproacheth his ,maker1 and he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished4#eef ,on the other hand1 ,he that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the ,lord1 and his good deed will ,he pay him again4#eeg ,not1 of course1 that there is any favouritism with ,god1 not that ,he has an interest in a man because of his means or lack of means2 but just because of ,his large and comprehensive impartiality4 ,the needy man and the oppressor meet together2 the ,lord lighteneth the eyes of them both4#eeh ,the rich and the needy meet together1 the ,lord is the ,maker of them all4#eei ,his special interest in the poor arises only from their special need1 from the mute cry which goes up to ,him1 from the appeal to ,him as their only friend1 deliverer1 and protector3 just as ,his lesser interest in the rich arises from their self-satisfied independence of ,him1 from their infatuated trust in themselves1 and from their conviction that already all things belong to them4 ,we should make a mistake if we supposed that the ,lord recognises any class distinctions1 or that ,he valued a man because he is poor1 just as we value a man because he is rich4 ,the truth rather is that ,he absolutely ignores the class distinctions1 regarding the mingled mass of human beings1 rich and poor1 oppressor and oppressed1 as on a plane of dead equality1 and then distinguishing between them on a totally different principle1--on a moral1 a spiritual principle2 and1 if there is any preference1 it is on the ground of certain valuable moral effects which poverty sometimes produces that ,he takes the poor into ,his peculiar and tender care1 honouring them with so close a friendship that service to them becomes service to ,him4 ,this is certainly good news to the masses4 ,you are undistinguished1 and unobserved1--the voice of wisdom seems to say1--,in this world1 with its false distinctions and perverted ideals1 you feel at a constant disadvantage4 ,you dare hardly claim the rights of your manhood and your womanhood4 ,this great personage1 possessing half a city1 drawing as much unearned money every day as you can earn by unremitting toil in fifteen or twenty years1 seems to overshadow and to dwarf you4 ,and there are these multitudes of easy1 comfortable1 resplendent persons who live in large mansions and dress in costly garments1 while you and your family live in a couple of precarious rooms at a weekly rental1 and find it all you can do to get clean and decent clothes for your backs4 ,these moneyed people are held in much estimation2 you1 so far as you know1 are held in none4 ,their doings--births1 marriages1 deaths--create quite a stir in the world2 you slip into the world1 through it1 and out of it1 without attracting any attention4 ,but be assured things wear a different appearance from the standpoint of ,god4 ,realize how you and your fellow-men appear to ,him1 and you at once recover self-respect1 and hold up your head in ,his presence as a man4 ,that simple truth which the ,ayrshire peasant sang#efj you may take as ,god's truth1 as ,his revelation2 it is the way in which ,he habitually thinks of you4 ,how the scales seem to fall away from one's eyes directly we are enabled to see men and things as ,god sees them6 ,the sacred worth of humanity shines far brighter than any of its tinsel trappings4 ,we learn to estimate ourselves aright1 undisturbed and unabashed by the false estimates which are current in the world4 ,our true distinction is that we are men1 that we belong to a race which was made in the image of ,god1 was dear to ,his heart1 and is redeemed by ,his love4 ,the equality we claim for men is not a levelling down--it is quite the reverse2 it is raising them up to the higher level which they have deserted and forgotten2 it is teaching them to live as men1 distinguished not by their accidental circumstances or possessions1 but by their manhood itself4 ,it is giving men self-respect instead of self-esteem1 teaching them not to vaunt themselves as one against another1 but to claim their high and honourable title1 one and all1 as the sons of ,god4 ,,ii4 ,but now it follows that1 if the ,lord ,himself espouses the cause of the poor1 and even identifies ,himself with them1 ill-treatment of them1 injustice to them1 or even a wilful neglect of them and disregard of their interests1 must be a sin1 and a very terrible sin4 ,he that despiseth his neighbour sinneth2 but he that hath pity on the humble1 happy is he4#efa ,in the ,east to this day the proverb1 ,he that withholdeth corn1 the people shall curse him2 but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it1#efb has its full significance4 ,but even in the ,west1 where the name of ,christ is borne by the nations1 it is a common thing for one or two greedy and selfish capitalists to form a corner--as the commercial slang of the day denominates it--in some article of industry1 i4e41 to secure all the raw material in the market1 and to hold it until a famine price can be demanded4 ,meanwhile1 the mills are idle1 the looms are silent1 the workpeople are unemployed1 and their families suffer4 ,our moral sense is not yet sufficiently cultivated to condemn this hideous selfishness as severely as it deserves1 and to regard the perpetrators of it as enemies of the human race4 ,the people curse them1 that is all4 ,but as we have seen that the cause of the wage-earners is the cause of the ,lord1 we may rest quite confident that ,he to whom vengeance belongs enters every action of the kind in ,his unerasable accounts1 and reserves the inevitable punishment for these oppressors of the poor4 ,there is another evil of modern industrial life which is alluded to in the ,proverbs before us4 ,no oppression of the poor is more terrible than that which is exercised by those who themselves are needy4 ,the system which results from necessity of this kind is termed sweating4 ,the hungry contractor undertakes the job at the lowest possible price1 and secures his profit by getting hungrier and weaker creatures than himself to do the work at a price lower than possible1 literally at starvation wages4 ,what force1 then1 to modern ears is there in the saying1 ,a needy man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food6#efc ,the ,divine oversight of these industrial abuses is not1 as we sometimes suppose1 pretermitted4 ,wisdom and ,justice and ,love hold the reins1 and though the rapacity and cupidity of men seem to have a wide range1 they are inevitably pulled up in the end1 if not in this partial and transient life1 yet in that long ,eternity through which the ,eternal will work out ,his purposes4 ,as ,he ,himself sides with the poor and pities them1 and turns with indignation against their oppressors1 it follows necessarily that he that augments his substance by usury and increase gathereth it for him that pities the poor4#efd ,in fact1 the merciful and pitiful nature has all the forces that rule the universe on its side1 notwithstanding appearances to the contrary3 ,the merciful man doeth good to his own soul1 but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh4#efe ,it is the strange paradox of all selfishness that the selfish man is really quite blind to his own true interests4 ,he most conscientiously lives for himself1 and seeks his own good1 but the good he sought proves to be his evil1 and of all his innumerable foes he finds at last that he himself is the worst4 ,the selfish man is always coming to want1 while the unselfish man whose whole thought has been for others is richly provided for4 ,he that giveth unto the needy shall not lack1 but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse4#eff ,there is that scattereth and increaseth yet more1 and there is that withholdeth more than is meet1 but it tendeth only to want4#efg ,he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse6 ,yes1 nothing is more striking than this truth1 that not only positive oppression of the poor1 but mere indifference to their state1 mere neglect of their sufferings1 involves us in sin4 ,there are many who can honestly say that they have not deliberately wronged their fellow-men1 and will on that ground plead innocent2 but that is not enough4 ,we are as members one of another responsible in a degree for all the injustice and cruelty which are practised in the society to which we belong4 ,if we are drawing an income from invested money1 we are responsible for the cruel exactions of excessive work1 for the heartless disregard of life and limb1 and for the constant under-payment of the workers which makes the dividends so princely4#efh ,nay1 when we buy and use the cheap goods1 which are cheap because they have been made at the cost of health and happiness and life to our brothers and our sisters1 their blood is upon our heads1 though we choose to forget it4 ,for listen--,whoso stoppeth ears at the cry of the poor1 whoso tries to ignore that there is a labour question1 and that the cry for increased or even regular wages1 and for tolerable homes1 and wholesome conditions of work1 is a reality1 and in form of unions1 or strikes1 or low wails of despair1 is addressed to us all--he shall cry and shall not be heard4#efi ,such is the inexorable law of ,god4 ,and again3 ,deliver those that are carried away unto death1--those who are sacrificing the sweetness of life1 the sap of the bones1 the health of the marrow1 to the ruthless exigencies of the industrial machine2 and those tottering to slaughter see thou hold back1--not leaving them to dree their own sad weird1 helpless and unregarded4 ,if thou say1 ,behold we knew not this man1--how could we make ourselves acquainted with all the toiling masses of the city by whose labour we lived and were maintained in comfort8--,doth not ,he that weigheth the hearts consider it2 and ,he that keepeth thy soul1 doth not ,he know it1 and shall not ,he render to every man according to his work8#egj ,that is to say1 if we plead1 ,when saw we ,thee ahungred1 or athirst1 or sick and in prison1 and came not to ,thee8 our ,lord will say1 ,inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these1 ye did it not to ,me4 ,and we shall go away into everlasting punishment1 while the righteous go into life eternal4 ,,iii4 ,for it follows1 from the whole consideration of this subject1 that those who make their life a ministry to the poor obtain a blessing1--yes1 the only true and permanent blessing that life is capable of yielding4 ,he that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed2 for he giveth of his bread to the poor4#ega ,the very form of the saying is significant4 ,does it not imply3 ,it is obvious that to give our bread to the poor is a blessing to ourselves1 so obvious that it needs only to be stated to be admitted1 and therefore1 as the bountiful eye1 the philanthropic observation1 the readiness to see suffering and to search out the sufferers1 necessarily leads to this generous distribution1 it must be a blessing to its possessor4 ,indeed1 this is a true test of righteousness1 as the ,lord teaches in the parable just quoted4 ,it is the righteous that takes knowledge of the cause of the poor1 while the wicked understands not to know it4#egb ,a religion which takes no knowledge of the masses is a false religion2 a ,church and a ,ministry which understand not to know the condition of the people and the needs of the poor are not ,christ's ,church and ,christ's ,ministry1 but flagrantly apostate2 and nothing is plainer than this--that from such a ,church and ,ministry ,he will accept no orthodoxy of belief or valiant defence of the creed in lieu of obedience to all ,his plain and unmistakable commandments4 ,if we look at governments1 the test is practically the same4 ,the king that faithfully judgeth the poor1 his throne shall be established for ever4#egc ,and it is because the ,messianic ,king1 alone of all sovereigns and governments1 rightly and fully understands and maintains the cause of the poor1 that ,he alone of sovereigns shall be established for ever1 and of the increase of ,his government there shall be no end4 ,and for the flagrant neglect of this vital question on the part of all governing persons and assemblies1 that ,king will call to account those pompous and wordy magnates who have borne the sword in vain1 considering all interests rather than those of the poor1 whom they were specially appointed to judge2 and of the needy1 to whose succour they were peculiarly bound to run4 ,and what holds in the state holds in the family4 ,the virtuous woman1 and head of the household--she whom ,god can approve and welcome into everlasting habitations--is emphatically not she who is always striving for social aggrandisement1 always seeking for her children wealthy settlements and spurious honours2 but is one who spreadeth out her hand to the poor1 yea1 she reacheth forth her hands to the needy4#egd ,well may we try to take ,god's view of this question1 to understand what ,he means by the poor1 and how ,he regards them1 and how ,he expects us to treat them4 ,for this1 if it is not the secret and the centre of all true religious life1 is at least the infallible test of whether our religious life is true or not4 ,by our treatment of ,his poor1 the ,son of ,man1 who is to judge the world1 declares that we shall be judged4 ,by that we shall be condemned or by that we shall be acquitted4 ,,footnotes3 #eeb ,prov4 x4 #ae4 #eec ,prov4 xxiii4 #aj1 #aa4 #eed ,prov4 xv4 #be4 #eee ,prov4 xiv4 #ca4 #eef ,prov4 xvii4 #e4 #eeg ,prov4 xix4 #ag4 #eeh ,prov4 xix4 #ac4 #eei ,prov4 xxii4 #b4 #efj ,what though on hamely fare we dine1 ,wear hoddin-grey1 and a' that2 ,gie fools their silks and knaves their wine1 ,a man's a man for a' that4 ,for a' that and a' that1 ,their tinsel show and a' that1 ,the honest man1 tho' e'er sae poor1 ,is king o' men for a' that4 #efa ,prov4 xiv4 #ba4 #efb ,prov4 xi4 #bf4 ,the following description of ,persia1 in the ,missionary ,review of the ,world1 ,october1 #ahhi1 p4 #ghb1 aptly illustrates the practices against which the text inveighs3--,the sole end for which the ,persian ,government exists is the collection of the revenue1 the fleecing of the people4 ,large portions of the land1 confiscated from time to time1 belong to the ,sovereign1 and are farmed out on terms well-nigh ruinous to the tenant4 ,even where property belongs to the subject1 it is taxed to the last degree as a starting-point1 while the successions of sub-rulers and collectors make still further drains upon the moiety that must save the labourer's family from absolute want4 ,the whole burden of taxation thus comes really upon the labouring class4 ,added to this extortion is the constant uncertainty as to whether the planter will be permitted to reap his crop at all4 ,downright robbery of fields or households by the retainers of petty chiefs is of frequent occurrence1 and the poor are liable any day to be deprived of their very last resource4 ,agriculture and other industries so discouraged and paralysed barely sustain the lives of the people at the best1 and when drought is added thousands must perish4 ,in times of scarcity1 ,the king sets the example--locks up his granaries1 and withholds every kernel of wheat except at famine prices4 ,every nabob and landowner who has a stock on hand follows this example4 ,rapacity and cupidity rule2 money is coined out of the sufferings of the poor4 #efc ,prov4 xxviii4 #c4 ,oddly enough the commentators1 who seem never to have heard of sweating1 propose to read for 1 either rich1 or head1 for the head of the ,state2 an example of conjectural emendation which may well make us cautious of the mere scholar's method of treating the sacred text4 ,the cruellest landlords1 receiving #aj1 #bj1 and #cj per cent4 from detestable habitations 7in ,london71 are nearly connected by birth and circumstance to those they oppress 7,lecture delivered at ,essex ,hall1 ,november #ahth1 #ahhi1 by ,thomas ,locke ,worthington74 #efd ,prov4 xxviii4 #h4 ,the difficult verse ,proverbs xxii4 #af should find a place here1 ,he that oppresses the poor to increase for him1 he that gives to the rich only for need1 but it is impossible to accurately determine its meaning4 ,if the rendering of the ,english ,bible is correct1 we may interpret the proverb as a statement of the folly of oppression which leads to want as inevitably as the more obvious folly of giving to the rich4 ,but possibly ,nowack is right in an interpretation which gives quite another turn to the saying1 and makes it not a condemnation of the oppressor1 but a suggestion of the advantage which may be gained from the oppression by the oppressed4 ,he who oppresses the poor--it turns to his 7viz41 the poor man's7 gain1 because it calls out all his energy and endurance1 while he who gives to the rich--it turns only to want1 because it still further enervates and unfits him for the duties of life4 ,this is not very satisfactory1 and is decidedly far-fetched2 but it is better than ,delitzsch's suggestion1 which strips the proverb of all moral significance1 viz41 ,he that oppresses the poor1 it is at any rate for his own gain2 but he who gives to the rich1 it is only to get want4 ,the conclusion from this would be1 that it is better to oppress the poor than to give to the rich1 a sentiment quite out of harmony with the ethical teaching of the ,proverbs4 ,in a case like this we can only suppose that the saying has reached us in a mutilated form4 #efe ,prov4 xi4 #ag4 #eff ,prov4 xxviii4 #bg4 #efg ,prov4 xi4 #bd4 #efh ,can the shareholders of the ,g4 ,w4 ,r41 for instance1 hold themselves free from responsibility in the case referred to in the following paragraph from the ,journal of the ,people's ,palace8 ,the ,saturday ,review1 always trustworthy and read-worthy on subjects of law1 calls attention to a case which concerns a great many4 ,it is a case in which the decision is most unfortunate to the interests of all working men4 ,one ,membery was employed at ,paddington to shunt trunks3 he was taken on by a contractor1 but his real employers were the ,g4,w4,r4 ,the trucks were drawn by a horse1 and the horse ought to have had a boy to hitch on or off at a moment's notice3 but the contractor refused to supply boys4 ,membery in vain asked for one1 pointing out the great dangers to which he was exposed4 ,he complained on the very day of the accident by which he was knocked down and injured seriously4 ,he sued the ,company2 he won his case with damages2 the ,company1 being a rich body1 appealed4 ,now1 considering the vexation1 the anxiety1 and the expense of carrying on such a case1 a ,company which appeals ought in justice to have the damages doubled if it loses4 ,the ,company lost4 ,they appealed to the ,lords1 still on the principle of being rich and their opponent poor4 ,this time the ,company won4 ,the ,lords have ruled that the ,company did not employ ,membery1 and that he was not obliged to work without a boy3 he might have refused to work at all4 ,indeed6 ,then1 if he refused to work1 what about the children at home8 ,a more mischievous doctrine was never upheld4 ,why1 there are thousands and thousands of men and women who work daily under ineffectual protest1--who work at trades unwholesome1 for wages inefficient1 and for excessive hours2 yet they work because they must--because they must4 ,membery worked without a boy1 knowing that he would some day be run over and perhaps killed1 because he must3 he had no choice4 ,when all the ,trade ,unions are merged into one immense ,trade ,union1 it will not be the wages alone that will be determined1 but the cases of such unfortunate men as ,membery4 #efi ,prov4 xxi4 #ac4 #egj ,prov4 xxiv4 #aa1 #ab4 #ega ,prov4 xxii4 #i4 #egb ,prov4 xxix4 #g4 #egc ,prov4 xxix4 #ad4 ,has ,william ,,ii4 of ,germany been considering this text8 ,if so1 it is full of promise for the prosperity of ,germany and of ,europe8 7,international ,labour ,conference1 ,march #ahij47 #egd ,prov4 xxxi4 #cj4 ,,xxiii4 ,,education3 ,,the ,,parent',s ,,thought ,,of ,,the ,,child4 ,train up a child according to his way1 and even when he is old he will not depart from it4--,,prov4 xxii4 #f4 ,withhold not correction from the child2 if thou beat him with the rod he shall not die4 ,thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from ,sheol4--,,prov4 xxiii4 #ac1 #ad4 ,in ,lecture ,,iv4 we examined two of the main principles which should be inculcated on children in a ,christian home4 ,in the present lecture we approach the question of education again4 ,it is necessary for us to examine two features of parental training on which the book of ,proverbs lays repeated stress4 ,first1 the need of method in bringing up the young2 and second1 the way of punishing their delinquencies4 ,in the first we have an eternal principle1 which applies and must apply as long as human nature endures1 a principle which is even emphasized by the demands of our ,christian faith4 ,in the second we have a principle which is so modified and altered by the ,christian spirit1 that unless we make the largest allowance for the change1 it may be1 as it often has been1 misleading and hurtful in a high degree4 ,if we could trace out all the dark cruelties and injustice1 the vindictiveness1 the stupidity of parents1 guardians1 and teachers1 who have sheltered themselves under the authority of the text1 ,foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child1 but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him1#ege we might read with a new application our ,saviour's stern censure of accepting the letter of ,scripture in place of coming to ,him and learning of ,him who is meek and lowly of heart4#egf ,but our first duty is to understand the wholesome and eternally valid teaching that is here given us about education4 ,train up a child in the way he should go4 ,we gain a good deal in vividness if we go back to the meaning of the word which is rendered train4 ,derived from a noun which signifies the palate and the inner part of the mouth1 its literal meaning is to put into the mouth4 ,the metaphor suggested is that of feeding an infant4 ,every parent recognises the necessity of giving to the helpless children suitable nourishment4 ,at first the mother feeds the babe at the breast4 ,after the weaning she still feeds it with food carefully chosen and prepared4 ,as the child grows older she changes the food1 but she does not relax her care2 and the father admits the responsibility of procuring the necessary diet for his little one1 a responsibility which does not cease until the child is fully grown1 fully formed1 and fully able to provide for himself4 ,here is the suitable analogy for mental1 moral1 and spiritual teaching4 ,the parents must feed their child with morsels suitable to his age1 with the milk of the word at first1 afterwards with strong meat4 ,it all requires infinite care and forethought and wisdom1 for there is a certain way of development1 a certain ideal which the child must realize1 and if the training is to be on the lines of that development1 according to that way1 if it is to achieve that ideal1 the teaching must all be accurately adapted to the age or stage of development1 and to the particular character and disposition of the child4 ,if the preliminary work of the parents is wisely done1 if the influence exercised by them while their child is still entirely in their hands is exactly what it ought to be1 there is no fear for the rest of life--when he is old he will not depart from it4 ,a great master of modern literature1 who wandered through many ways of thought far from the opinions and faith of his parents1 when in his old age he sat down to write the reminiscences of his life1 discovered that the original bent given to his mind by his peasant parents had remained unexhausted to the end4#egg ,many beliefs currently held had faded and grown dim1 much of the historical foundation of his religion had crumbled away1 but there was a truth which he had learned from his mother's lips and had seen exemplified in his father's life1 and it returned to him in its full force1 and remained unsubmerged in the tides of doubt1 unaffected by the breath of change1 it even acquired a fresh hold upon him in the decline of his days3--,the chief end of man is to glorify ,god and to enjoy ,him for ever4 ,it is a good illustration of the unrivalled power of the parents over a man's life4 ,the ,lord hath given the father honour over the children1 and hath confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons1 says ,ecclesiasticus4#egh ,it is a rare opportunity which is given to parents4 ,no sphere of influence which they may acquire can be like it2 it may be wider1 but it can never be so intense or so decisive4 ,a father who abdicates the throne on which ,god has set him1 who foregoes the honour which ,god has given him1 or turns it into dishonour1 must one day answer for his base renunciation before the ,eternal ,father4 ,a mother who uses the authority over her sons which ,god has given her1 merely to gratify her own vanity and selfishness1 and to retain a love which she has ceased to deserve2 or one who wantonly throws away the authority because its exercise makes large demands upon the spirit1 has much to answer for at the ,divine judgment-seat4 ,parental powers are so absolute1 parental possibilities are so great1 parental joys are so rare and wonderful1 that they must of necessity be balanced by corresponding disadvantages in case of failure4 ,he that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow1 and the father of a fool hath no joy4#egi ,a foolish son is a grief to his father1 and bitterness to her that bare him4#ehj ,it must therefore constantly press upon all wise parents1 how are they to act1 what methods are they to adopt1 in order to rightly discharge their duties1 and to win that precious reward of a wise son8#eha ,my son1 if thy heart be wise1 my heart shall be glad1 even mine1 yea1 my reins shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things4 ,the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice1 and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him4#ehb ,the answer which is constantly suggested by the book of ,proverbs1 and especially by our text1 is this3--,a successful parent will be one who makes the training of the children a constant and religious study4 ,it is the last subject in the world to be left to haphazard4 ,from the first a clear aim must be kept in view4 ,is my great object that this boy shall be a true1 a noble1 a ,god-fearing man1 serving his day and generation in the way ,god shall appoint8 ,is this object purged of all meaner thought8 ,can ,i renounce the idea of worldly success for him1 and be indifferent to wealth and reputation1 to comfort and ease for him8 ,when this question is satisfactorily settled1 then comes a second1 ,how is the aim to be realized8 ,is not the parent at once driven to ,god with the cry1 ,who is sufficient for these things8 ,a mistake may be so fatal1 and it is so hard to clearly see1 to rightly judge1 to firmly act1 that nothing can avail but the direct teaching1 inspiration1 and power of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,happy are the father and the mother who have been forced in their helplessness to seek that ,divine help from the very first6 ,if we only knew it1 all education is useless apart from the ,spirit of ,god4 ,where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 ,and liberty is just what is most needed4 ,mechanical schemes1 cut-and-dried precepts1 are quite insufficient4 ,moving in the liberty of the ,spirit you have insight and adaptiveness2 at once you perceive that each child is a separate study1 and must be approached in a different way4 ,one is sanguine and over-confident1 and he must constantly be humbled2 another is diffident and desponding1 and must be encouraged with the bright word of sympathy1 spoken at the right moment4 ,i see it all1 my child2 ,i know what a fight it is in which you are engaged4#ehc ,one is a born sceptic1 and would know the reason why2 he must be met with patient and comprehending arguments according to his mental powers4 ,another has no speculative instincts1 and questions have to be raised1 doubts suggested1 in order to save him from drifting into the easy-going acceptance of everything which he is told4 ,one seems naturally inclined to be religious1 and must be carefully watched lest the sensitiveness should become morbid1 and a dominant thought should lead to mania1 melancholy1 or a possible reaction4 ,another seems to have no religious instinct1 and the opportunity must be sought for awaking the sense of need1 rousing the conscience1 opening the eyes to ,god4 ,but again1 in proportion as parents are led by the ,spirit1 and make their sacred charge a matter of constant and beseeching prayer1 they will in their own person and conduct represent ,god to the children1 and so supplement all the possible defects of the express training and discipline4 ,if the command ,be thou in the fear of the ,lord all the day long#ehd is to have any weight with a child1 he must live with those who themselves are in the fear of the ,lord all the day long4 ,a man must live near to ,god if he is to make ,god real to his children4 ,a mother must hold very real converse with her ,lord if ,his reality is to become obvious to her little ones4 ,as a child1 says one1#ehe ,i always had a feeling that ,god and ,jesus were such particular friends of mamma's1 and were honoured more than words could tell4 ,if such an impression is to be created1 depend upon it ,god and ,jesus must be particular friends of yours4 ,no talk1 however pious1 can create that impression unless the hallowed friendship actually exists4 ,again1 led by the ,spirit1 we are filled with ,divine love2 and no training of children can have any valuable or permanent effect which does not issue from1 which is not guided by1 and does not result in1 love4 ,for love is the ,divine educator4 ,it is this which accounts for the frequently observed anomaly that children who seem to have inferior home advantages and very inadequate education turn out better than others for whom no labour or expense or care seems to be grudged4 ,if love is not there1 all the efforts will fail4 ,love is the only atmosphere in which the spirits of little children can grow4 ,without it the wisest precepts only choke1 and the best-prepared knowledge proves innutritious4 ,it must be a large love1 a wise love1 an inclusive love1 such as ,god alone can shed abroad in the heart4 ,love of that kind is very frequently found in huts where poor men lie1 and consequently the children issuing out of them have been better trained than those whose parents have handed them over to loveless tutors or underlings4 ,and this may perhaps fitly lead us to consider the other point which is before us--the prominence which is1 in the ,proverbs1 given to chastisement4 ,he that spareth his rod hateth his son1 but he that loveth him1 chasteneth him betimes4#ehf ,chasten thy son1 seeing there is hope1 and set not thy heart on his destruction4#ehg ,stripes that wound are a cleansing of evil1 strokes of the recesses of the belly4#ehh ,withhold not correction from the child2 when thou beatest him with a rod he shall not die4 ,thou shalt beat him with the rod1 and shalt deliver his soul from ,sheol4#ehi ,the rod and reproof give wisdom1 but a child left to himself causeth shame to his mother4#eij ,correct thy son and he shall give thee rest1 yea1 he shall give delight unto thy soul4#eia ,corporal punishment seems to the ,christian1 and to the common sense of a society which is the product of the ,christian spirit1 degrading1 brutalising1 and essentially futile6 ,it can only have even a modicum of good effect where it is inflicted by a loving hand1 and in a loving spirit1 without a trace of temper or cruelty1 and obviously costing more to inflict than to bear4 ,but even with all these conditions granted it is a most unsatisfactory method of punishment2 it arouses vindictive feelings and savage passions4 ,a whipped boy is almost sure to bully the next creature weaker than himself that he encounters2 and acting only as a deterrent1 it never reaches the conscience1 or creates a sense of revolt from the sin for the sin's sake1 which is the object of all wise1 or at least of all paternal1 punishment4 ,we can only1 therefore1 set aside the precept to use the rod as one which was in harmony with darker and harder times before the ,saviour of the world had come to reveal the inner life and to teach us how we are to deal with those mysterious and wonderful beings1 our fellow-creatures4 ,but with this modification1 and substituting wise and merciful punishments for rod and stripes1 these teachings remain of permanent validity4 ,our ,heavenly ,father chastens ,his children2 by most gracious punishments ,he brings home to them the sense of sin1 and leads them to repentance and amendment4#eib ,and earthly parents1 in proportion as they are led by the ,spirit and filled with love1 will correct their children1 not for their own pleasure1 but for their children's good4 ,the truth which underlies these apparently harsh injunctions is this3 ,love inflicts punishments1 nor are any punishments so severe as those which ,love inflicts2 and only the punishments which ,love inflicts are able to reform and to save the character of the delinquent4 ,we all of us know that weak and sentimental nature--too common among modern parents--which shrinks from inflicting pain under all circumstances4 ,seizing on the ill-understood doctrine that ,love is the sovereign power in life and in education1 it pleads in the name of ,love that the offender may be spared1 that he may escape the due penalty of his fault4 ,that is not a love like ,god's love3 and if you are careful to observe1 it has not the remedial or saving effect which the love of ,god has4 ,he that declines to punish his child hates him2 he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes4 ,in the poor child's heart so much foolishness is bound up1 so much wilfulness and temper1 so much vanity and pride1 so much sensuality and selfishness1 so much unwholesome craving for amusement1 it is so natural to the child to make pleasure the be-all and the end-all of life1 that1 if all this foolishness is to be driven away1 there must be much sharp discipline and painful correction4 ,the ,divine method of punishment seems to be to let men eat of the fruit of their doings until they loathe it4 ,they rebelliously call out for meat in the wilderness1 and it turns into a satiety1 a bitterness1 and a plague1 while it is between their teeth4 ,is it possible that parents too1 under the guidance of the ,spirit1 may chasten their children in the same way1 bringing home to the wilful the painful effects of wilfulness1 to the vain the ridiculous effects of vanity1 to the selfish the disastrous issue of selfishness1 to the sensual the ruin and the misery of sensuality8 ,might not the most effectual punishment for every fault be an enforced quiet in which the culprit is confronted with the inevitable outcome of the sin8 ,does not even the hardest heart begin to melt1 does not the dullest conscience begin to grow sensitive1 when the sure results of evil are aptly pourtrayed before the mind8 ,what pride would have courage to grow if it had a glimpse of the hard1 dry1 loveless1 unloved1 heart which is its inevitable fruit8 ,what young man would venture to take the first downward steps in impurity if he had ever formed a conception of the devastation of brain and heart and life which must ensue8 ,the rod cannot open the eyes2 it can but set the cunning intellect to work to find a way of enjoying the sin and escaping the rod4 ,but the opening of the eyes--at which all true punishment must aim--reveals a rod which is bound up with the sin1 sure as the sin itself4 ,it is the parents' solemn task--and many an inward sorrow must it cost--to bring home to his child's heart these truths of experience which the child cannot at present know4 ,wise penalties and reproof give wisdom1 but a child left to himself causeth shame to his mother4#eic ,there is a voice1 the voice of ,divine ,wisdom1 which speaks continually to every parent1 to every teacher of youth3 ,incline thine ear1 it says1 and hear the words of the wise1 and apply thy heart unto my knowledge--without attention and application this heavenly wisdom cannot be known4 ,for it is a pleasant thing1 so the voice continues1 if thou keep these words within thee1 if they be established together upon thy lips4 ,that thy trust may be in the ,lord1--without whom the best-meant efforts will fail1--,i have made them known to thee this day1 even to thee4 ,have not ,i written to thee excellent things of counsels and knowledge1 to make thee know the certainty of the words of truth1 that thou mayest carry back words of truth to them1 those helpless and ignorant children whose needs send thee to me for instruction8#eid ,the failures are numerous1 disastrous1 heart-breaking1 but they are unnecessary4 ,your children are holy2 they belong to the ,saviour in whom you yourselves believe4 ,grasp that truth2 go to ,him in sublime faith4 ,lord1 it is not with ,thee to save a part1 to choose this one and save that4 ,thou wilt glorify ,thyself in every one4#eie ,surrender yourself to ,him that ,he may use you to exhibit ,his ,divine graces and saving love to the children4 ,live with ,him daily1 that the glory of the communion may not pass away from your face1 or appear only by fits and starts--and so train up your child according to his way2 and when he is old he will not depart from it4 ,,footnotes3 #ege ,prov4 xxii4 #ae4 #egf ,john v4 #ci4 #egg ,i am the eldest child1 born in #agie1 ,december #dth1 and trace deeply in myself the character of both parents1 also the upbringing and example of both4--,carlyle's ,reminiscences1 vol4 i41 p4 #ed4 #egh ,eccles4 xxx4 #b4 #egi ,prov4 xvii4 #ba4 #ehj ,prov4 xvii4 #be1 xix4 #ac1 #bf4 #eha ,prov4 xv4 #bj4 ,cf4 x4 #a1 xxvii4 #aa1 xxix4 #c4 #ehb ,prov4 xxiii4 #ae1 #af1 #bd4 #ehc ,see that invaluable little book1 ,the ,education of a ,christian ,home1 edited by ,ella ,s4 ,armitage4 #ehd ,prov4 xxiii4 #ag4 #ehe ,the ,education of a ,christian ,home4 #ehf ,prov4 xiii4 #bd4 #ehg ,prov4 xix4 #ah4 #ehh ,prov4 xx4 #cj4 #ehi ,prov4 xxiii4 #ac1 #ad4 #eij ,prov4 xxix4 #ae4 #eia ,prov4 xxix4 #ag4 #eib ,lev4 xxvi4 #da3 ,if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled1 and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity1 then will ,i remember ,my covenant with ,jacob4 #eic ,prov4 xxix4 #ae4 #eid ,prov4 xxiii4 #ag-ba4 #eie ,the ,education of a ,christian ,home4 ,,xxiv4 ,,forgiving4 ,be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause1 and deceive not with thy lips4 ,say not1 ,i will do so to him as he hath done to me2 ,i will render to the man according to his work4--,,prov4 xxiv4 #bh1 #bi4 ,rejoice not when thine enemy falleth1 and let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown1 lest the ,lord see it and it displease ,him1 and ,he turn away ,his wrath from him4--,,prov4 xxiv4 #ag1 #ah4 ,he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished4--,,prov4 xvii4 #e4 ,if thine enemy be hungry1 give him bread to eat1 and if he be thirsty give him water to drink2 for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head1 and the ,lord shall reward thee4--,,prov4 xxv4 #ba1 #bb4 ,there is no subject on which the teaching of the ,proverbs more strikingly anticipates the morality of the ,new ,testament than that of forgiveness to our enemies4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ could take some of these sayings and incorporate them unchanged into the law of ,his kingdom1 for indeed it is not possible to surpass the power and beauty and truth of the command to feed those who have injured us if they are hungry1 to give them drink when they are thirsty1 and in this ,divine way to kindle in them repentance for the injury which they have done4 ,this is the high-water mark of moral excellence4 ,no better state can be desired4 ,when a human spirit is habitually in this tender and forgiving mood1 it is already united with the ,father of spirits1 and lives4 ,it is almost superfluous to point out that even the saints of the ,old ,testament fall very far short of the lofty standard which is here set before us4 ,the ,psalmist1 for example1 is thinking of coals of a quite different sort when he exclaims3 ,as for the head of those that compass me about1 let the mischief of their own lips cover them4 ,let burning coals fall upon them2 let them be cast into the fire2 into deep pits that they rise not up again4#eif ,that is the old elemental hate of human nature1 the passionate1 indignant appeal to a righteous ,god against those who have been guilty of a wrong or an injury4 ,even ,jeremiah1 one of the latest1 and certainly not the least holy1 of the prophets could cry out concerning his enemies3 ,yet1 ,lord1 ,thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me2 forgive not their iniquity1 neither blot out their sin from ,thy sight2 but let them be overthrown before ,thee2 deal ,thou with them in the time of ,thine anger4#eig ,words painfully natural1 words echoed by many a persecuted man of ,god1 but yet quite inconsistent with the teaching of the ,saviour in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 the teaching already foreshadowed in this beautiful proverb4 ,but it may not be superfluous to notice that the ,proverbs themselves1 even those which stand at the head of this chapter1 do not all touch the high-water mark of xxv4 #ba4 ,thus1 for example1 the motive which is suggested in xxiv4 #ah for not rejoicing in the fall of an enemy is none of the highest4 ,the idea seems to be1 if you see your enemy undergoing punishment1 if calamity is falling upon him from the ,lord1 then do not indulge in any insolent exultation1 lest the ,lord should be offended with you1 and1 in order to chastise your malignity1 should cease to plague and trouble him4 ,in such a view of the question1 ,god is still regarded as a ,nemesis that will resent any unseemly rejoicing in the calamity of another2#eih in proportion therefore as you wish to see your enemy punished1 you must abstain from that joy in his punishment which would lead to its diminution4 ,from a precept of that kind there is a vast moral stride to the simple prohibition of retaliation1 announced without any reason given or suggested in xxiv4 #bi--,say not1 ,i will do so to him as he hath done to me1 ,i will render to the man according to his work4 ,and from this again there is an incalculable stride to the positive spirit of love1 which1 not content with simply abstaining from vindictiveness1 actually turns the tables1 and repays good for evil1 looking with quiet assurance to the ,lord1 and the ,lord alone1 for recognition and reward4 ,our wonder is occasioned not because all the ,proverbs do not reach the moral altitude of this one1 but rather that this one should be so high4 ,when an ideal is set up far in advance of the general practice and even of the general thoughts of the time1 we can ascribe it only to the promptings of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,it needs no proof that forgiveness is better than revenge4 ,we all know that-- ,revenge1 at first though sweet1 ,bitter ere long back on itself recoils4#eii ,we all know that the immediate effect of forgiving our enemy is a sweet flow of tenderness in the soul1 which surpasses in delight all the imagined joys of vindictiveness2 and that the next effect is to soften and win the foe himself2 the scornful look relents1 the tears of passion give place to those of penitence1 the moved heart is eager to make amends4 ,we all know that nothing more powerfully affects our fellow-men than the exhibition of this placable temper4#fjj ,we all know that in forgiving we share ,god's prerogative1 and come into harmony with ,his ,spirit4 ,yet here is the melancholy fact that notwithstanding this proverbial truth1 taken up into the teaching of our ,saviour1 and echoed in the writings of ,his ,apostles1#fja even in a ,christian society1 forgiveness is almost as rare as it was in the days of ,king ,solomon4 ,men are not ashamed--even professing ,christians are not ashamed--to say about their enemies1 ,i will do so to him as he has done to me1 ,i will render to the man according to his work4 ,we even have a lurking admiration for such retaliatory conduct1 calling it spirited1 and we still are inclined to contemn one who acts on the ,christly principle as weak or visionary4 ,still the old bad delight in seeing evil fall on the head of our enemies glows in our hearts2 still the act of vengeance is performed1 the bitter retort is given1 the abusive letter is written1 with the old sense of unhallowed pride and triumph4 ,how is this8 ,ah1 the simple truth is that it is a small matter to get right principles recognised1 the whole difficulty lies in getting them practised4 ,we need a power which can successfully contend against the storm of passion and self-will1 in those terrible moments when all the calm lights of reason are quenched by the blinding surf of passion1 and all the gentle voices of goodness are drowned by its roaring waves4 ,sometimes we hear it said that the moral teaching of ,christ is not original1 but that all ,his precepts may be found in the words and writings of ancient sages1 just as ,his teaching about forgiveness is anticipated by the proverb4 ,yes1 but ,his claim does not rest upon ,his teaching1 but upon the ,divine and supernatural power which ,he has at ,his command to carry out ,his doctrines in the conduct of ,his disciples4 ,this is the point which we must realize if this sweet and beautiful ideal is to be worked out in our lives4 ,we have but touched the fringe of the question when we have conned ,his words1 or shaped conceptions of what a life would be passed in conformity to them4 ,the centre of ,christian doctrine is power1 the power of ,christ1 the fountain of living waters opened in the heart1 the grafting of the withering branches upon a living stock1 the indwelling of ,christ ,himself1 as the spring and principle of every holy action1 and the effectual restraint on all our ungovernable passions4 ,but before looking more closely at this1 we ought to pay some attention to the constant motive which our ,lord1 even in ,his teaching1 presents for the practice of a forgiving disposition4 ,he always bases the duty of forgiveness on the need which we have of ,god's forgiveness2 ,he teaches us to pray1 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we forgive them that trespass against us2 and in the moving story of the unmerciful servant1 who demanded the full payment from his fellow-servant just when his lord had pitifully remitted his own debt1 ,he tells us that forgiveness of our enemies is an indispensable condition of our being forgiven by ,god4 ,his lord was wroth1 and delivered him to the tormentors1 till he should pay all that was due4 ,so shall also ,my ,heavenly ,father do unto you1 if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts4#fjb ,it is not therefore only1 as it is sometimes stated1 that we ought to be moved to pity by remembering what ,god has done for us4 ,no1 there is a much sterner thought in our ,lord's mind2 it is that if we do not forgive we shall not and cannot be forgiven4 ,the forgiving spirit manifested to our fellow-men is that without which it is vain for us to come near and to ask ,god for pardon4 ,if we have come1 and are just about to offer our prayer1 and if we then remember that we have aught against a brother1 we must go first and be reconciled to him1 before our prayer can be so much as heard4 ,here is certainly a motive of a very powerful kind4 ,which of us would dare to cherish the bitter thought1 or proceed with our plan of vengeance1 if we remembered and realized that our vindictiveness would make our own pardon at the hands of ,god impossible8 ,which of the countless deeds of retaliation that stain with blood the pages of history would have been perpetrated1 and which of the perpetrators would not have tremblingly relinquished all thought of reprisals1 if they had seen that in those savage acts of vengeance they were not1 as they supposed1 executing lawful justice1 but actually cutting off their own hope of pardon before the throne of ,god8 ,if we avenge ourselves1 if society is constantly torn by the quarrels and the mutual recriminations of hostile men whose one thought is to give as good as they have got1 it can only be because we do not believe1 or do not realize1 this solemn teaching of the ,lord4 ,he seems a faint and doubtful voice compared with the loud tumult of passion within2 ,his authority seems weak and ineffectual compared with the mighty domination of the evil disposition4 ,powerful1 therefore1 as the motive is to which ,he constantly appeals1 if ,he had left us nothing but ,his teaching on the subject we should not be materially better off than they who listened with attention to the teaching of the wise authors of these ancient ,proverbs4 ,what more has ,he left us8 ,it is ,his prerogative to give to those who believe in ,him a changed heart4 ,how much is meant by that1 which only the changed heart can know6 ,outwardly we seem much alike2 outwardly there is little sign of an inward transformation2 but far as the east is from the west is the unregenerate heart from the regenerate1 the ,christless heart from one which ,he has taken in ,his hands1 and by ,his great redemption created anew4 ,now without stopping to follow the processes of faith by which this mighty change is effected1 let us simply mark the characteristics of the change so far as it affects the matter in hand4 ,the first and most radical result of the ,new ,birth is that ,god takes the place which ,self has occupied4 ,all the thoughts which have clustered about your own being now turn to ,his ,being1 as stray fragments of iron turn to the magnet4 ,consequently1 all the emotions and passions which are stimulated by self-love give place to those which are stimulated by the love of ,god4 ,it is as if the pipes of your aqueduct had been changed at the fountain head1 disconnected from the malarious waters of the marsh1 and connected with the pure and sparkling water of the hills4 ,god's ways of regarding men1 ,god's feelings towards men1 ,his yearning over them1 ,his pity for them1 flow into the changed heart1 and so preoccupy it that resentment1 hatred1 and malice are washed out like the sour dregs in a cup which is rinsed in a running stream4 ,there is the man who did you the wrong--very cruel and unpardonable it was6--but1 as all personal elements are quite out of the question1 you regard him just as if you were not the injured being4 ,you see him only as ,god sees him2 you trace all the malignant workings of his mind2 you know how the fire of his hate is a fire which burns the heart that entertains it4 ,you see clearly how tormenting those revengeful passions are1 how the poor soul mastered by them is diseased1 how the very action in which it is triumphing now must become one day a source of bitter regret and implacable self-reproach2 you soon begin to regard the ill deed as a shocking wound inflicted on the doer of it1 and the wells of pity are opened4 ,as if this enemy of yours had been quite innocent of all ill-will1 and had been overtaken by some terrible calamity1 your one instinctive thought is to help him and relieve him4 ,out of the fulness of your heart1 without any sense of being magnanimous1 or any thought of a further end1--simply for the pity of it1--you come to proffer him bread in his hunger and water in his thirst4 ,yes1 it is in the atmosphere of pity that personal resentment dies away1 and it is only by the power of the ,son of ,man that the heart can be filled with a pity large enough to pardon all the sins of our kind4 ,it is this thought--though without any definite statement of the means by which it is produced--that finds expression in ,whittier's touching lines3-- ,my heart was heavy1 for its trust had been ,abused1 its kindness answered with foul wrong2 ,so turning gloomily from my fellow-men1 ,one summer ,sabbath day ,i strolled among ,the green mounds of the village burying-place2 ,where pondering how all human love and hate ,find one sad level2 and how1 soon or late1 ,wronged and wrongdoer1 each with meekened face1 ,and cold hands folded over a still heart1 ,pass the green threshold of a common grave1 ,whither all footsteps tend1 whence none depart1 ,awed for myself1 and pitying my race1 ,our common sorrow1 like a mighty wave1 ,swept all my pride away1 and1 trembling1 ,i forgave4 ,yes1 one who is touched by the spirit of the ,son of ,man finds too much to pity in the great sorrowing world1 and in its fleeting and uncertain life1 to cherish vengeful feelings4 ,himself redeemed by the untold love of ,his ,father1 by the undeserved and freely offered pardon in ,christ ,jesus his ,lord1 he can feel for his enemies nothing but forbearance and love2 if they too are ,christians1 he longs to win them back to the peace and joy from which their evil passion must have driven them2 and if they are not1 his eyes must fill with tears as he remembers how brief is their apparent triumph1 how unsubstantial their gleam of joy4 ,the desire to save them immediately masters the transitory wish to punish them4 ,the pity of men1 for the sake of the ,son of ,man1 wins the day4 ,and now we may just glance at the effect which the ,christly conduct has upon the offender1 and the reward which ,god has attached to its exercise4 ,it is one of the most beautiful traces of ,god's likeness in even bad men1 a characteristic to which there is no parallel in the animal creation1 that though passion awakes passion1 wrath wrath1 and vengeance revenge--so that savages pass their whole time in an unbroken series of blood feuds1 the hideous retaliation bandied from tribe to tribe and from man to man1 generation after generation--the spirit of meekness1 proceeding not from cowardice1 but from love1 disarms passion1 soothes wrath1 and changes vengeance into reconciliation4 ,the gleam of forgiveness in the eye of the injured is so obviously the light of ,god that the wrongdoer is cowed and softened before it4 ,it kindles a fire in his spirit1 his heart melts1 his uplifted hand falls1 his angry voice grows tender4 ,when men are so dehumanised as to be insensible to this softening effect1 when they interpret the gentleness as weakness1 and are moved by the forgiving spirit simply to further injury and more shameless wrong1 then we may know that they are possessed1--they are no longer men1--they are passing into the category of the lost spirits1 whom the forbearance of ,god ,himself leads not to repentance but only to added sin4 ,but if you have ever by the sweet spirit of ,christ so mastered your natural impulse as to return good for evil lovingly and whole-heartedly1 and if you have seen the regenerating effect in the beautiful subjugation of your foe and his transformation into a friend1 it is not necessary to say much of the reward which ,god has in store for you4 ,do you not already possess it8 ,yet the reward is certainly greater than you are able at once to apprehend4 ,for what a secret is this which you possess1 the secret of turning even the malignity of foes into the sweetest affection1 the secret which lay in the heart of ,god as the spring and the means of man's redemption4#fjc ,the highest reward that ,god can give to ,his creatures is to make them partakers of ,his nature as ,he has made them in ,his own image4 ,when we share in a ,divine attribute we enter so far into the ,divine bliss2 and in proportion as this attribute seems removed from our common human nature1 our spirit must exult to find that it has been really appropriated4 ,what further reward1 then1 can he who avenges not himself desire8 ,the pulse of the ,divine heart beats in him2 the tides of the ,divine life flow through him4 ,he is like ,god--,god who opposes to man's ingratitude the ocean of ,his pardoning love2 he is conscious of that which is the fountain of joy in the ,divine ,being2 surely a man must be satisfied when he awakes in ,god's likeness6 ,and that satisfaction comes to every one who has heaped coals of fire on his enemy's head by feeding him in his hunger1 and giving him water when athirst4 ,say not1 ,i will do so to him as he has done to me1 ,i will render to the man according to his work4 ,love your enemies2 pray for them which despitefully use you4 ,,footnotes3 #eif ,psalm cxl4 #i1 #aj4 #eig ,jer4 xviii4 #bc4 #eih ,prov4 xvii4 #e;b4 #eii ,paradise ,lost1 ix41 #aga4 #fjj ,burke said of ,pitt after his fall1 that the manner in which he made his own justification1 without impeaching the conduct of his colleagues or taking any measure that might seem to arise from disgust or opposition1 set a seal upon his character4 7,lecky1 ,england in the ,eighteenth ,century1 vol4 iii41 #fa47 #fja ,see ,rom4 xii4 #bj4 #fjb ,matt4 xviii4 #ce4 #fjc ,cf4 the proverb1 ,when a man's ways please the ,lord ,he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him 7,prov4 xvi4 #g74 ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,king4 ,it is the glory of ,god to conceal a thing1 but the glory of kings is to search out a matter4 ,the heaven for height and the earth for depth1 and the heart of kings is unsearchable4 ,take away the dross from the silver1 and there cometh forth a vessel for the finer2 ,take away the wicked from before the king1 and his throne shall be established in righteousness4 ,put not thyself forward in the presence of the king1 and stand not in the presence of great men3 ,far better is it that it be said unto thee1 ,come up hither1 than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen4--,,prov4 xxv4 #b-g4 ,it will be remembered that in the book of ,samuel there are two accounts of the monarchy and its origin lying side by side1--different1 and to all appearance irreconcilable4 ,one set of passages seems to imply that the king was appointed by ,god's holy purpose to fulfil the objects of ,his government4 ,but another set of passages seems to represent the outcry for a king as a rebellion against the sovereignty of the ,lord1 and the appointment of a king as a punishment for the people's sin4 ,it is in agreement with the first idea that provision is made in the ,law for a monarchical government2 but it is in agreement with the second idea that the actual kings prove to be for the most part incompetent and faithless rulers1 who do evil in the sight of the ,lord1 and that even the best of them fall into gross sins1 or are at any rate guilty of grave errors4 ,thus ,david stumbled into a miry pit2 ,jehoshaphat experienced defeat in his alliance with ,ahab2 ,josiah was slain at the battle of ,megiddo2 ,uzziah was smitten with leprosy2 and ,hezekiah committed an imprudence which incidentally brought the great calamity upon his country4 ,so it is all through4 ,now the only satisfactory explanation that this twofold aspect of the kingship seems to admit of is one which goes deep down into the prophetic and inspired character of ,israel and its history4 ,the king in his ideal aspect is throughout a type and a foreshadowing of the ,anointed ,one that was to come2 and the actual failure of all the kings to realize the ideal1 to govern wisely1 to establish righteousness1 or even to observe the moral law in their own persons1 necessarily threw men's thoughts forward to ,him who should sit upon the throne of ,david1 and carry out in ways not yet realized or even conceived the noble and exalted ideas which clustered round the theocratic throne4 ,many hasty critics have been swift to see and to censure the ignoble failures of the men who sat upon the thrones of ,judah and ,israel2 some critics have developed with sufficient clearness the noble ideal which always underlay the monarchy even in the moments of its deepest decline4 ,but comparatively few have seen the significance of this contrast between the ideal and the actual2 and consequently only a few have perceived with what a prolonged and emphatic voice the whole story of the ,kings spoke of ,christ4 ,the contrast just pointed out in the historic books appears with equal distinctness in this book of ,wisdom2 the proverbial sayings about the king exhibit the twofold thought2 and the reconciliation is only found when we have realized the ,kingship of ,christ and can bring that idea to explain the ancient forecast4 ,thus the study of the things concerning the king is to the thoughtful reader of the ,proverbs a study of the things concerning ,christ4 ,the ideal elements speak of ,him2 the actual shortcomings cry out for ,him4 ,first we will review what is said to the glory and honour of the king4 ,he comes before us as the embodiment of righteousness4#fjd ,it is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness1 for the throne is established by righteousness4 ,righteous lips are the delight of kings1 and they love him that speaketh right4#fje ,a king that sitteth on the throne of judgment winnoweth away all evil with his eyes4444 ,a wise king winnoweth the wicked and bringeth the threshing wheel over them4#fjf ,as he purges the wicked1 so he encourages the righteous3 ,he that loveth pureness of heart hath grace on his lips1 the king shall be his friend4#fjg ,there is a great severity in his government3 ,the wrath of a king is as messengers of death2 and a wise man will pacify it4#fjh ,the king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion4#fji ,on the other hand1 his mercy is one with his severity3 ,his favour is as dew upon the grass4#fji ,in the light of the king's countenance is life1 and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain4#faj ,mercy and truth preserve the king1 and his throne is upholden by mercy4#faa ,the fact is that his government is a viceroyalty4 ,he is the human instrument of the ,divine ,will4 ,the king's heart is in the hand of the ,lord2 as the watercourses--which the farmer directs and leads over his fields according to his purpose--he turneth it whithersoever he will4#fab ,thus the king expresses precisely the ,lord's favour towards a servant that dealeth wisely1 and the ,lord's wrath against him that causeth shame4#fac ,the king manifests the ,lord's spirit in dealing with the subject1 judging the cause of the poor as the ,lord does4 ,the king that judgeth faithfully the poor1 his throne shall be established for ever4#fad ,he is1 in a word1 a manifestation--a revelation--of ,god ,himself4 ,the glory of ,god is to conceal a thing1 i4e41 to be unsearchable and unknowable1 and the glory of kings is to search a matter out2 the king1 searching the deep things of ,god1 and becoming the interpreter of the ,divine will to men1 is ,himself in the place of ,god to us4 ,the heaven for height and the earth for depth1 and the heart of kings there is no searching4 ,reflecting the righteousness1 the mercy1 the power of ,god1 his throne is bathed in the celestial light4 ,take away dross from the silver1 and there cometh forth a vessel for the finer2 take away evil from before the king1 and his throne shall be fixed in justice4#fae ,in the presence of such a sovereign the subject may well abase himself1 even the greatest and wisest may count himself small4 ,glorify not thyself before a king1 and in the place of the great do not stand4 ,for better is it that it be said to thee1 ,come up hither1 than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of a prince whom thine eyes have seen4#faf ,rebellion against such a sovereign is the merest infatuation4 ,against him there is no rising up4#fag ,the terror of the king is as the roaring of a lion1 he that provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own life4#fah ,my son1 fear thou the ,lord and the king1 and meddle not with them who are given to change2 for their calamity shall rise suddenly2 and who knoweth the destruction of them both4#fai ,it is evident that in all this we have an ideal picture4 ,no king that ever sat on an earthly throne1 no ,david or ,hezekiah1 no ,antoninus or ,trajan1 no ,charlemagne or ,st4 ,louis1 no ,alfred or ,edward the ,first1 ever in the faintest degree approached the fulfilment of the ideal4 ,the divinity which hedged them was of quite a different kind from this open vision of ,god1 this human mediatorship1 this absolute subjection to the ,divine will4 ,and when we leave the select class of great and good kings1 and look at the ordinary type of the strong and capable ruler1 ,saul or ,ahab1 ,alexander or ,csar1 ,constantine or ,diocletian1 ,clovis or ,rollo1 ,william the ,conqueror or ,henry ,,ii41 ,louis ,,xiv4 or ,frederick the ,great1 the ,czar ,peter or ,napoleon1 we see at once that we have passed into a region of thought and action where the description of the ,proverbs becomes unreal and visionary4 ,there is but one way of explaining the language before us4 ,it points to ,christ4 ,in ,him alone is it or can it be realized4 ,he is the only sovereign that has any union with ,god which is at all like identity4 ,he is the only ,ruler who blends with absolute infallibility severity and mercy4 ,of what other king could it be said that purity of heart secures ,his friendship8 ,what other king has made it his first and supreme object to judge faithfully the poor8 ,what other government but ,his has sought its security in that essential duty and its fulfilment8 ,it is ,christ alone whose favour descends on the heart like dew on the grass1 or as a cloud of the latter rain4 ,his is the only rule against which rebellion is more than a political crime1 and becomes an actual sin4 ,of ,him alone can it be said with any breadth of meaning or certainty of fulfilment1 ,let no falsehood from the tongue be spoken to the ,king1 and no falsehood shall go out of his mouth4 ,a sword is the king's tongue1 and that not of flesh4#fbj ,it is only a king absolutely righteous and absolutely merciful that can ever bear down with effective force upon lies and liars4 ,it is only ,he that would see in lying the prime sin1 the incurable disease1 the unpardonable treason4 ,the ,king is ,christ4 ,before ,he came there was in the line of ,his foreshadowing a typical ,divine right of kings4 ,but since ,his coming all such kingships have been anachronisms4 ,the appeal which used to be made to the ,old ,testament to support that famous political dogma was indeed its surest refutation and condemnation4 ,for all that is said there of the indefeasible prerogative1 coupled as it is with an infallibility of judgment1 a perfect moral goodness1 and an irresistible power1 applied and could apply only to ,christ4 ,where absolute monarchy is not ,christship it becomes1 as so many familiar passages in the ,old ,testament show1 a tyranny and an oppression1 a cause of national corruption and decay4 ,now this leads us1 in the second place1 to notice how the actual failure and consequent mischief of the kingship are reflected in the proverbs1 and especially those later proverbs which date from the decline and fall of the monarchy4 ,we have only to glance over the books of ,samuel and ,kings to see what kind of men the occupants of the throne were2 few of them show any marked ability1 most of them by their folly and stupidity lead their people with hurried strides towards the threatened catastrophe4 ,so far from acting as vicegerents of the ,lord1 it is their special characteristic that they are the authors of the prevailing religious apostasy4 ,even the more favourable exceptions1 the kings who in the main did what was right in the eyes of the ,lord1 had not spiritual energy enough to purify the worship and restore the allegiance of their people to the ,lord4 ,now it would be some insolent and witless tyrant who would desolate the country and drive his subjects into revolt4 ,a raging lion1 a ravening bear1 a wicked ruler over a poor people4 ,o prince1 that lackest understanding and art a great oppressor1 he that hateth rapine shall prolong his days4#fba ,now it would be a headstrong prince who would scorn all counsel1 and1 refusing to be advised1 would himself retire from the helm of the state4 ,where no wise steering is1 the people falleth2 but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety4#fbb ,setting aside the maxim1 ,every purpose is established by counsel1 and by wise guidance make thou war1#fbc his purposes would be disappointed4#fbd ,now the earth would be burdened and tremble with the portent of a servant as king1#fbe one who as a servant might be excellent1 but once on the throne would reveal all the weaknesses and vices which are essentially servile4#fbf ,now a liar would occupy the throne1 and lying lips ill become a prince4#fbg ,and now1 owing to the weakness and folly of the prince1 the state would fall into pieces and be torn with wildly contending factions3 ,for the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof1 but by a man of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged4#fbh ,under the rule of the wicked1 population disappears4#fbi ,and while in the multitude of people is the king's glory1 in the want of people is the destruction of the prince4#fcj ,under the tyrant's sway the people sigh4#fca ,their persons are insecure1 and their property is taken from them in the form of forced gifts or benevolences4#fcb ,and as the king1 such are his servants2 his readiness to hearken to falsehood renders them all wicked4#fcc ,the atmosphere of the court becomes corrupt3 all truth1 sincerity1 purity disappear4 ,the courtier is afraid to speak his mind1 lest jealous listeners should report the words to the monarch's suspicious ear4 ,the very freedom of social life disappears1 and the table of the king becomes a trap to the unwary4 ,when thou sittest to eat with a ruler1 consider diligently him that is before thee1 and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite2 be not desirous of his dainties1 seeing they are deceitful meat4#fcd ,here is the complete and absolute corruption of the ,divine royalty4 ,the description holds true age after age2 suggested by the decline of the monarchy in ,israel1 it applies accurately to the ,imperial government at ,rome1 and it might have been written to describe the character and the government of the ,stuarts in ,england4 ,strong in what they supposed to be their ,divine ,right1 they became liars and hearkened to falsehood2 their servants became wicked2 their government perished from its own inherent rottenness4 ,the description holds too of the ,french monarchy from the time of ,louis ,,xiv4 to its fall4 ,and it would seem1 as indeed we may confidently believe1 that the slow and imperceptible decay of the faith in the divine right of kings has been in ,god's hands a long preparation for the reign of ,him whose right it is to reign1 ,jesus ,christ1 the true ,king of men4 ,but there is still one other characteristic cause of the perverted kingship1 to which attention is drawn in xxxi4 #b-h3 ,give not thy strength unto women1 nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings4 ,it is not for kings1 ,o ,lemuel1 it is not for kings to drink wine1 nor for princes to say1 ,where is strong drink8 ,lest they drink and forget the law1 and pervert the judgment of any that is afflicted4 ,these fleshly vices are peculiarly common and peculiarly ruinous to kings1 preventing them from pleading the cause of such as are left desolate1 and from ministering judgment to the poor and needy4#fce ,it is in realizing the private life of kings1 and in observing how seldom they have practised temperance1 chastity1 self-control1 and how readily their contemporaries and even posterity have dispensed them from these primary obligations1 that we plainly recognise the broad divergence between the facts of earthly monarchies and the description of the heavenly monarchy1 and thus are prepared to recognise with gratitude and awe the sole sovereignty of ,christ4 ,the cry of the ,florentines under the temporary excitement created by ,savonarola's preaching was1 ,jesus is our ,king1 only ,jesus4 ,that is the constant and ever-swelling cry of human hearts4 ,the types and shadows fall away2 through the forms the spirit becomes apparent4 ,it is ,christ that claims and wins and enchains our loyalty4 ,we are ,his subjects1 ,he is our absolute ,lord2 we have no king but ,jesus4 ,there is in every human heart a loyalty which seeks for a fitting object2 if it finds no lawful king1 it will attach itself to a pretender4 ,what pathos there is in the sacrifice which men have made1 and in the deeds which they have dared1 for ,pretenders who have had no claim upon their devotion or allegiance6 ,show me my rightful sovereign1 seems to be the implicit demand of us all4 ,and the answer has been given1 ,behold1 your king cometh unto you1 in the lowly person1 but commanding majesty1 of ,jesus4 ,many have accepted this and have cried1 ,blessed is the king that cometh in the name of the ,lord4#fcf ,shall we not bring our loyalty to ,him1 recognising the ,one whom prophets and wise men foretold1 and acknowledging in ,his sway the authority which all other governments1 even the best of them1 lack8 ,let no false shame or fear restrain our homage2 let not the sneers of those over whom other lords have dominion keep our knees from bending1 and our tongues from confessing1 ,the fear of man bringeth a snare2 but whoso putteth his trust in the ,lord shall be safe4 ,many seek the ruler's favour1--their whole thought is to stand well with the powers that be1 and to secure the recognition of the ,pretender who happens at any given moment to be directing the affairs of the world1--but a man's judgment cometh from the ,lord1 his rightful ,king1#fcg and to stand right with ,him is all that need concern us4 ,how well the ,king of men understood that because ,he came in humility--,his birthplace a manger1 ,his throne a fishing-boat or a wayside well1 riding not in chariots of state1 but on an ass1 and the foal of an ass2 because ,his appeal would be1 not to the eye1 but to the heart2 not to the outward1 but the inward2 not to the temporal1 but to the eternal1--men1 with their perverted and misapplied loyalties1 would reject ,him and be ashamed to confess ,him4 ,false kingships have dazzled our eyes1 and hidden from us the grandeur of a ,sovereign who is among us as one that serveth4 ,from the touch of ,his humiliation we shrink4 ,but if the heart recognises and owns its lawful ,sovereign2 if1 captivated by ,his indescribable beauty and bowed before ,his indisputable authority1 it seeks only in profound obeisance and absolute surrender1 to worship and adore and serve1 how royal is ,his treatment1 how unstinted are ,his largesses4 ,come up hither1 ,he says1 bringing the soul higher and higher1 into fuller vision1 into more buoyant life1 into more effectual service4 ,the evil ruler1 we saw1 made all his servants wicked4 ,christ1 as ,king1 makes all ,his servants holy1 dwelling in them1 and subduing their hearts to ,himself in ever truer devotion2 ,he through them carries out ,his vast designs of love in those portions of ,his dominion where rebels still rise up against ,him1 and where poor deluded hearts still fretfully cry1 ,we will not have this ,man to rule over us4 ,in the multitude of people is the king's glory4 ,may ,god hasten the time when all peoples and tongues shall bow down to and worship our ,king6 ,,footnotes3 #fjd ,it will be observed that1 speaking generally1 the early proverbs present the more favourable side of the kingship1 and the later proverbs suggest a period of decline 7see ,introduction74 ,possibly the same test may serve to distinguish the passages in ,deuteronomy and the book of ,samuel2 the brighter thought that the king was originally intended by ,god may come from the early days when the kings still promised well1 and the darker thought which crosses the optimistic picture may emanate from the period when their failure and decline were unmistakable4 #fje ,prov4 xvi4 #ab1 #ac4 #fjf ,prov4 xx4 #h1 #bf4 #fjg ,prov4 xxii4 #aa4 #fjh ,prov4 xvi4 #ad4 #fji ,prov4 xix4 #ab4 #faj ,prov4 xvi4 #ae4 #faa ,prov4 xx4 #bh4 #fab ,prov4 xxi4 #a4 #fac ,prov4 xiv4 #ce4 #fad ,prov4 xxix4 #ad4 #fae ,prov4 xxv4 #b-e4 #faf ,prov4 xxv4 #f1 #g4 #fag ,prov4 xxx4 #ca4 #fah ,prov4 xx4 #b4 #fai ,prov4 xxiv4 #ba1 #bb4 #fbj ,the ,,lxx4 of xxiv4 #bc1 which adds a passage not appropriate to ,christ1 ,whosoever is delivered up to him shall be crushed4 ,for if his temper be exasperated1 he consumes men1 sinews and all1 and crunches their bones1 and burns them up as a flame1 so that they are uneatable to the young of eagles4 #fba ,prov4 xxviii4 #ae1 #af4 #fbb ,prov4 xi4 #ae4 ,the image from steering survives in our own governor 7gubernator74 #fbc ,prov4 xx4 #ah4 #fbd ,prov4 xv4 #bb4 #fbe ,see #a ,kings xvi4 #g4 #fbf ,prov4 xxx4 #bb4 #fbg ,prov4 xvii4 #g4 #fbh ,prov4 xxviii4 #b4 #fbi ,prov4 xxviii4 #ab4 #fcj ,prov4 xiv4 #bh4 #fca ,prov4 xxix4 #b4 #fcb ,prov4 xxix4 #d4 #fcc ,prov4 xxix4 #ab4 ,cf4 ,ecclesiasticus x4 #b3 ,as the judge of the people is himself1 so are his officers2 and what manner of man the ruler of the city is1 such are they also that dwell therein4 #fcd ,prov4 xxiii4 #a-c4 ,cf4 the ,eastern adage1 ,dainties of a king burn the lips4 ,it was a common occurrence at the court of ,pope ,alexander ,,vi4 to invite an obnoxious person to the ,papal table and there dispose of him by means of poisoned food4 #fce ,prov4 xxxi4 #h1 #i4 #fcf ,luke xix4 #ch4 #fcg ,prov4 xxix4 #be1 #bf4 ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,fool4 ,as snow in summer1 and as rain in harvest1 so honour is not seemly for a fool4444 ,a whip for the horse1 a bridle for the ass1 and a rod for the back of fools4 ,answer not a fool according to his folly1 lest thou also be like unto him4 ,answer a fool according to his folly1 lest he be wise in his own conceit4 ,he that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off his own feet1 and drinketh in damage4 ,the legs of the lame hang loose3 so is a parable in the mouth of fools4 ,as a bag of gems in a heap of stones1 so is he that giveth honour to a fool4 ,as a thorn that goeth up into the hand of a drunkard1 so is a parable in the mouth of fools4 ,as an archer that woundeth all1 so is he that hireth the fool and he that hireth them that pass by4 ,as a dog that returneth to his vomit1 so is a fool that repeateth his folly4 ,seest thou a man wise in his own conceit8 there is more hope of a fool than of him4--,,prov4 xxvi4 #a1 #c-ab4 ,this passage points out certain characteristics of the fool1 a term which occurs so frequently in the book of ,proverbs that we must try to conceive clearly what is to be understood by it4 ,the difficulty of forming a distinct conception arises from the fact that there are three different words1 with different shades of meaning1 all rendered by the one ,english expression1 fool or folly4 ,for want of carefully distinguishing these delicate varieties of the original1 some of the proverbs appear in ,english tautological and almost meaningless4 ,we must try then to separate and to understand these several terms4 ,the ,hebrew word which most frequently occurs in the book to designate fool1 1 together with its derivative1 which is the usual word for folly1 1 signifies weakness4 ,we are to think of that ignorant1 inconsiderate1 sanguine1 and self-confident temper which eschews counsel1 which will have its own way1 which declines to be governed by reason1 which forms fond expectations and baseless hopes1 and which is always sure that everything will turn out according to its wish1 though it takes no means to secure the desired result4 ,perhaps the simplest way of describing the habit of mind and the type of character intended by the ,hebrew is to use the word infatuation4 ,this would not do as a translation in all the passages where it occurs1 but it will serve to point out the underlying idea4 ,the word which comes next in frequency1 1--the word used uniformly throughout the particular passage before us1--has at its root the notion of grossness1 the dull and heavy habit of one whose heart has waxed fat1 whose ears are slow to hear1 and whose higher perceptions and nobler aspirations have succumbed to the sensual and earthly nature4 ,we have to think of moral1 as well as mental1 stupidity1 of insensibility to all that is true and good and pure4 ,the fool in this sense is such a dullard that he commits wickedness without perceiving it1#fch and utters slanders almost unconsciously2#fci he does not know when to be silent2#fdj whatever is in him quickly appears1#fda but when it is known it is very worthless2#fdb nor has he the sense to get wisdom1 even when the opportunity is in his hand2#fdc his best advantages are quickly wasted and he is none the better4#fdd ,perhaps the ,english word which best fits the several suggestions of the ,hebrew one is senseless4 ,the third term1 1 occurs only four times in the book4 ,it is derived from a verb signifying to fade and wither4 ,it describes the inward shrinking and shrivelling of a depraved nature1 the witlessness which results from wickedness4 ,it contains in itself a severer censure than the other two4 ,thus ,he that begetteth a senseless man 77 doeth it to his sorrow1 but the father of the bad fool 77 hath no joy4#fde ,in the one case there is trouble enough1 in the other there is nothing but trouble4 ,thus it is one of the four things for which the earth trembles when a man of this kind is filled with meat4#fdf ,this third character is sketched for us in the person of ,nabal1 whose name1 as ,abigail says1 is simply the ,hebrew word for fool in its worst sense1 which fits exactly to its bearer4 ,but dismissing this type of folly which is almost synonymous with consummate wickedness1 of which indeed it is the outcome1 we may turn to the distinction we have drawn between infatuation and senselessness in order to explain and understand some of the ,proverbs in which the words occur4 ,first of all we may notice how difficult it is to get rid of the folly of infatuation3 ,though thou shouldest bray a person possessed of it in a mortar with a pestle among bruised corn1 yet will it not depart from him4#fdg ,it is bound up in the heart of a child1#fdh and the whole object of education is to get it out2 but if childhood passes into manhood1 and the childish wilfulness1 self-confidence1 and irrationality are not expelled1 the case is well-nigh hopeless4 ,correction is practically useless2 ,he must be a thorough fool1 it has been said1 who can learn nothing from his own folly2 but that is precisely the condition of the infatuated people we are considering2 the only correction of their infatuation is a further increase of it4#fdi ,the reason is practically choked2 the connection between cause and effect is lost3 thus every ill consequence of the rash act or of the vicious habit is regarded as a misfortune instead of a fault4 ,the wretched victim of his own folly reviles fortune1 nature1 men1 and even ,god1 and will not recognise that his worst enemy is himself4 ,thus1 while the wise are always learning and growing rich from experience1 the infatuation of senseless men is infatuation still4#fej ,it is this which makes them so hopeless to deal with2 their vexation being quite irrational1 and always refusing to recognise the obvious facts1 is worse than a heavy stone or the piled-up overweight of sand for others to bear4#fea ,if a wise man has a case with such a person1 the ill-judged fury and the misplaced laughter alike make it impossible to arrive at any sound settlement4#feb ,the untrained1 undisciplined nature1 which thus declines the guidance of reason and is unteachable because of its obstinate self-confidence1 is constantly falling into sin4 ,indeed1 strictly speaking1 its whole attitude is sinful1 its every thought is sin4#fec ,for reason is ,god's gift1 and to slight it is to slight ,him4 ,he requires of us a readiness to be taught1 and an openness to the lessons which are forced upon us by ,nature1 by experience1 by our own human hearts4 ,this flighty1 feather-brained1 inconsequential mode of thinking and living1 the wilful neglect of all the means by which we might grow wiser1 and the confident assurance that1 whatever happens1 we are not accountable for it1 are all an offence against ,god1 a failure to be what we ought to be1 a missing of the mark1 a neglect of the law1 which is1 in a word1 sin4 ,but now let us look at the fool in the second signification1 which occurs in this twenty-sixth chapter so frequently1--the man who has become spiritually gross and insensible1 unaware of ,divine truths and consequently obtuse to human duties4 ,we may take the proverbs in the order in which they occur4 ,as snow in summer1 and as rain in harvest1 so honour is not seemly for a fool4 ,it is a melancholy fact that the kind of person here referred to is too often found in positions of honour among men4 ,men rise to distinction in an artificial order of society1 not by wisdom1 but by the accident of birth and opportunity2 and not unfrequently the ill-placed honour itself leads to that insensibility which is so severely censured4 ,the crass dulness1 the perversity of judgment1 the unfeeling severity1 often displayed by prominent and distinguished persons1 are no matter of surprise1 and will not be1 until human society learns to bring its honours only to the wise and the good4 ,delicate living is not seemly for such persons4#fed ,it is precisely the comfort1 the dignity1 the exaltation1 which prove their ruin4 ,now it is true that we cannot always trace the effects of this misplaced honour1 but we are reminded that it is out of the course of ,nature's eternal laws1 incongruous as snow in summer1 hurtful as rain in harvest4 ,consequently the due penalty must inevitably come4 ,according to one reading of ver4 #b1 this penalty which overtakes the exalted fool is thus described3#fee ,as the sparrow in her wandering1 and the swallow in her flying1 so a gratuitous curse shall come upon him4 ,in any case ver4 #c states clearly enough what will eventually happen3 ,a whip for the horse1 a bridle for the ass1 and a rod for the back of fools4 ,it is not1 of course1 that this penalty can be remedial1 but ,nature herself prepares a rod for the back of him that is void of understanding2#fef ,as judgments are prepared for scorners1 so are stripes for the back of fools4#feg ,nor must we only understand this of fools that attain to unnatural honour3 there are many dullards and insensates who are not made such by the stupidity of misdirected admiration1 but by their own moral delinquencies2 and as surely as the sparrow after flitting about all day returns to her nest in the dusk1 or as the swallow in the long summer flight arrives at her appointed place1 the punishment of folly will find out the delinquent4 ,it may be long delayed1 but an awakening comes at last2 the man who hardened his heart1 who turned away from the pleadings of ,god and mocked at ,his judgments1 who chose the vanishing things of time and scorned the large fruition of eternity1 discovers his incredible stupidity1 and the lash of remorse falls all the more heavily because it is left in the hand of conscience alone4#feh ,we must never lose sight of the fact that by the fool is not meant the simple or the short-witted2 there is in this folly of the proverbs a moral cause and a moral responsibility which involve a moral censure2 the senseless of whom we are speaking are they whose heart is waxed gross1 and their ears are dull of hearing1 and their eyes they have closed2 lest haply they should perceive with their eyes1 and hear with their ears1 and understand with their heart4#fei ,we are in the main obliged to leave the insensate to ,god and their conscience1 because it is well-nigh impossible for us to deal with them4 ,they are intractable and even savage as wild animals4 ,let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man1 rather than a fool in his infatuation4#ffj ,they are irritated with any suggestion of spiritual things1 indignant with any hint of their own case and its responsibilities4 ,if1 on the one hand1 you try to approach them on their own ground1 to realize their motives and work upon the base ideas which alone influence such minds1 you seem to lose all power over them by coming down to their level4 ,answer not a fool according to his infatuation1 lest thou also be like him4#ffa ,if1 on the other hand1 you feel bound to convict him of his folly1 and to humble him to a sense of his position1 you are obliged to use the language which will be intelligible to him4 ,answer a fool according to his infatuation1 lest he be wise in his own eyes4#ffb ,i recollect one ,sunday afternoon passing by a large village public-house1 and it chanced that a little group of street preachers were doing their best to make known the ,gospel to the idlers who were sitting on the benches outside4 ,going up to interest the men in what was being said1 ,i was confronted by the landlord1 who was in a state of almost frenzied indignation4 ,he denounced the preachers as hypocrites and scoundrels1 who lived on the honest earnings of those whom he saw around him4 ,every attempt to bring him to reason1 to show that the men in question spent their money on drink and not on the preachers1 to secure a patient hearing for the gracious message1 was met only with violent abuse directed against myself4 ,the man was precisely what is meant in these verses by a fool1 one in whom all spiritual vision was blinded by greed and sensuality1 in whom the plainest dictates of common sense and human courtesy were silenced2 to answer him in his own vein was the only way of exposing his folly1 and yet to answer him in such a way was to come down to his own level4 ,what could be done except to leave him to the judgments which are prepared for scorners and to the stripes which await the back of fools8 ,a fool uttereth all his anger1 and facing the torrent of angry words it is impossible to effectually carry home to him any wholesome truth4#ffc ,we have seen how the kind of man that we are describing is in an utterly false position when any dignity or honour is attributed to him2 indeed1 to give such honour is much the same as binding a stone in a sling to be immediately slung out again1 probably to some one's injury2#ffd but he is almost equally useless in a subordinate position4 ,if1 for instance1 he is employed as a messenger1 he is too dull to rightly conceive or correctly report the message4 ,he will almost certainly colour it with his own fancies1 if he does not pervert it to his own ends4 ,to receive and to deliver any message accurately requires a certain truthfulness in perception and in speech of which this unfortunate creature is entirely devoid4 ,thus any one who employs him in this capacity might as well cut off his own feet1 as he drinks damage to himself4#ffe ,it is the awful punishment which comes to us all1 when we allow our heart to wax gross1 that wisdom itself becomes folly in our lips1 and truth herself becomes error4 ,thus if we know a proverb1 or a text1 or a doctrine1 we are sure to give it a lame application1 so that1 instead of supporting what we wish to enforce1 it hangs down helpless like a cripple's legs4#fff ,in this way the insensate corruptness of the ,medival ,church tried to justify the abuse of giving great ecclesiastical preferments to young children by quoting the text1 ,out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise4 ,sometimes the result of this culpable stupidity is far more disastrous2 it is like a thorn which runs up into a drunkard's hand1 visiting with terrible condemnation those who have misused and perverted the truth1#ffg as when ,torquemada and the administrators of the ,inquisition based their diabolical conduct on the gracious words of the ,lord1 ,compel them to come in4 ,no1 the fool's heart can give no wholesome message2 it will turn the very message of the ,gospel into a curse and a blight1 and by its dull and revolting insensibility it will libel ,god to man1 suggesting that the ,infinite ,father1 the ,eternal ,god1 is altogether such an one as these who profess to speak in ,his name4 ,the offence of the fool then cannot be condoned on the ground that he is only an enemy to himself4 ,it is his master that he wrongs4 ,as the proverb says1 ,a master produces all things1 but a fool's wages and hirer too pass away4#ffh ,the fool loses what he earns himself3 that is true1 but he undoes his employer also4 ,one is our ,master1 even ,christ2 ,he hires us for service in ,his vineyard2 when we suffer our heart to wax dull1 when we grow unspiritual1 unresponsive1 and insensate1 it is not only that we lose our reward1 but we crucify the ,son of ,god afresh and put ,him to an open shame4 ,and the worst1 the most mournful1 feature about this fool's condition is that it tends to a perpetual self-repetition3 ,as a dog that returneth to his vomit1 so a fool is always repeating his folly4#ffi ,every hardening of the heart prepares for a fresh hardening1 every refusal of truth will lead to another refusal4 ,last ,sunday you managed to evade the message which ,god sent you3 that makes it much easier to evade the message ,he sends you to-day4 ,next ,sunday you will be almost totally indifferent4 ,soon you will get out of reach altogether of ,his word1 saying it does you no good4 ,then you will deny that it is ,his word or ,his message4 ,you pass from folly to folly1 from infatuation to infatuation1 until at last you can with a grave face accept the monstrous self-contradiction of materialism1 or wallow unresisting in the slime of a tormenting sensuality4 ,as the dog returns to his vomit6 ,it must be owned that the condition of the fool seems sufficiently sad1 and the gloom is deepened by the fact that our book knows nothing of a way by which the fool may become wise4 ,the ,proverbs uniformly regard the foolish and the wise as generically distinct2 between the two classes there is a great gulf fixed4 ,there is the fool1 trusting in his own heart1 incurring stripes1 not profiting by them1 always the same incorrigible and hopeless creature2 and there is the wise man1 always delivered1 learning from experience1 becoming better and better4#fgj ,the only suggestion of hope is a comparative one3 ,seest thou a man wise in his own conceit8 there is more hope of a fool than of him4#fga ,but there is no tone of confidence about this assurance1 because1 as we have repeatedly seen1 the case of the proud or conceited man is regarded as practically desperate4 ,no1 for comfort and hope in this matter we have to turn away from the ,ancient ,wisdom to the revealed ,wisdom1 ,christ ,jesus4 ,it is ,he and ,he alone who practically forbids us to be hopeless about any one4 ,a noble ,roman in the time of the ,punic ,wars received an honourable recognition from the ,senate because he had not in the darkest times despaired of the ,republic4 ,that is the kind of debt that we owe to the ,saviour4 ,he has not despaired of any human being2 ,he will not let us despair4 ,it is ,his peculiar power1 tried and proved again and again1 to turn the fool into the wise man4 ,observing the threefold distinction which is hidden under the word we have been examining1 ,christ is able to arouse the weak1 fond1 infatuated soul to a sense of its need4 ,could there be a better instance than that of the woman at the well1--a foolish creature living in conscious sin1 yet full of specious religious talk8 ,did ,he not awake in her the thirst for the living water1 and satisfy the craving which ,he had excited8 ,christ is able to transform the dull and heavy soul1 that has suffered itself to be mastered by greed and petrified by selfishness4 ,was not this what ,he did to ,zaccheus the publican8 ,and even with that worst kind of fool1 whose heart is withered up within him by reason of sin1 and who has learnt to say in his heart that there is no ,god1#fgb the ,lord is not helpless4 ,we do not see such an one in the pages of the ,new ,testament1 because the folly of ,atheism was not among the follies of those times4 ,but in our own day it is an experience by no means uncommon2 when an avowed infidel comes under the power of the ,gospel1 ,christ enters into him with the overwhelming conviction that there is a ,god2 ,christ shows him how it is sin which has thus obscured the elementary conviction of the human spirit2 and1 by the direct power of ,christ1 his heart comes to him again as that of a little child1 while in the rapturous joy of believing he lays aside the folly which made him doubt along with the sin which made him unwilling to believe4 ,,footnotes3 #fch ,prov4 x4 #bc4 #fci ,prov4 x4 #ah4 #fdj ,prov4 xii4 #bc4 #fda ,prov4 xiv4 #cc4 #fdb ,prov4 xiv4 #g4 #fdc ,prov4 xvii4 #af4 #fdd ,prov4 xxi4 #bj4 #fde ,prov4 xvii4 #ba4 #fdf ,prov4 xxx4 #bb4 #fdg ,prov4 xxvii4 #bb4 #fdh ,prov4 xxii4 #ae4 #fdi ,prov4 xvi4 #bb4 #fej ,prov4 xiv4 #bd4 ,this seems simpler than supposing that the clause contains a play upon the possible double meaning of 1 which1 though it yields an excellent sense1--the power of fools is only folly1 i4e41 when they have power they turn it only to a foolish account 7cf4 xxvi4 #a71--must be regarded as very obscure1 especially seeing that we have no positive instance of as a derivative of in the sense of power4 #fea ,prov4 xxvii4 #c4 #feb ,prov4 xxix4 #i4 #fec ,prov4 xxiv4 #i4 #fed ,prov4 xix4 #aj4 #fee ,this is reading for 1 a constant source of confusion and interchange in ,hebrew ,,mss4 #fef ,prov4 x4 #ac4 #feg ,prov4 xix4 #bi4 #feh ,quos divi conscia facti ,mens habet attonitos et surdo verbere cdit1 ,occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum4 --,,juv41 ,sat41 xiii41 #aic4 #fei ,matt4 xiii4 #ae4 #ffj ,prov4 xvii4 #ab4 #ffa ,prov4 xxvi4 #d4 #ffb ,prov4 xxvi4 #e4 #ffc ,prov4 xxix4 #aa4 #ffd ,prov4 xxvi4 #h4 #ffe ,prov4 xxvi4 #f4 #fff ,prov4 xxvi4 #g4 #ffg ,prov4 xxvi4 #i4 #ffh ,prov4 xxvi4 #aj4 ,this rendering ,delitzsch obtained by altering the vowel points in the first into 1 and the sense is good1 if a little far-fetched4 ,on the other hand1 the received reading gives a plain though a somewhat insipid meaning3 ,much produces all1--whoever has a little and uses it well quickly gets more1--but he that hires a fool is as he who hires passers by1 i4e4 the employment of a fool is a barren undertaking which practically leads to nothing4 #ffi ,prov4 xxvi4 #aa4 #fgj ,prov4 xxviii4 #bf2 cf4 ix4 #h and xxiii4 #i4 #fga ,prov4 xxvi4 #ab4 #fgb 1 ,psalm xiv4 #a4 ,,xxvii4 ,,living ,,day ,,by ,,day4 ,boast not thyself of to-morrow1 for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth4--,,prov4 xxvii4 #a4 ,the grave and destruction are never satisfied2 and the eyes of men are never satisfied2 and ,,lxx4 adds1 ,an abomination to the ,lord is he who sets his eye1 and undisciplined men uncontrolled in tongue4--,,prov4 xxvii4 #bj4 ,whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof1 so he that waits on his ,lord eats of the honour4--,,prov4 xxvii4 #ah4 ,here is a wholesome lesson for us4 ,we are to trust no future1 however pleasant2 we are to dwell in no past1 however honourable4 ,life consists of a present1 given to us day by day2 this is our whole wealth2 squandered1 it cannot be recovered2 neglected1 it withers as a leaf4 ,titus1 the ,roman ,emperor1 would say in the evening1 when he had omitted his duties or failed in his purposes1 ,perdidi diem1 ,i have lost a day2--yes1 that lost day is lost for ever2 other days may come1 but not that one2 the duties of that day may be performed afterwards or by other hands1 but still the day is lost1 because it passed away empty4 ,the thief which cheats us of our days1 and beggars us of our wealth1 is the specious thought that to-morrow belongs to us4 ,the illusion is as old as the world1 but is to-day as fresh and powerful as ever4 ,we have to shake ourselves free of a spell1 and awake out of a dream1 to see that when to-morrow comes it is already to-day4 ,we only begin to live in any true and satisfactory sense when we have learnt to take each day by itself1 and to use it as if it were our last1 and indeed as if it were our all2 dismissing the thought of to-morrow as a mere phantom which for ever evades our grasp4 ,life is a mosaic1 a large work shaping on the wall or in the dome of some vast cathedral which eye hath not yet seen2 and it can only be effectually wrought if1 with minute and concentrated care1 the little piece of coloured glass which we call ,to-day is duly fixed into its bedding and fitted exactly to its immediate neighbours4 ,why do you work with such intensity8 the great artist was once asked2 ,because ,i work for eternity1 was the answer4 ,and that is why each day is of such importance2 that is why each day demands all our thought and care3 eternity is made up of days1 and the present day is all of eternity that we can ever possess4 ,it is well for us then each morning to take the day fresh from ,god's hands1 and at once to throw our whole soul into it1 and to live it with a pure intensity1 a sense of solemn and joyful responsibility4 ,oh1 ,day1 if ,i squander a wavelet of thee1 ,a mite of my twelve-hours' treasure1 ,the least of thy gazes or glances 7,be they grants thou art bound to or gifts above measure71 ,one of thy choices or one of thy chances 7,be they tasks ,god imposed thee or freaks of thy pleasure71-- ,my ,day1 if ,i squander such labour or leisure1 ,then shame fall on ,asolo1 mischief on me4#fgc ,but it may be said1 ,is not this the life of a mere butterfly8 ,is it not the mark of a prudent man to work with his eye on the future1--,prepare thy work without1 and make it ready for thee in the field1 and afterwards build thine house8#fgd ,is it not just what we have to complain of in the foolish man that he ignores to-morrow1--,a prudent man seeth the evil and hideth himself1 but the simple pass on and suffer for it8#fge ,here is an apparent contradiction which requires reflection4 ,and the difficulty increases when we remember that most worthy works are the labour of years3 an architect lays his plans for a great building which he can hardly hope to see finished in his own lifetime2 an author spends days and months and years in the preparation of materials1 and must depend on the uncertain future for a time to shape them into a book2 a statesman1 in proportion as he is wise1 avoids what is called a hand-to-mouth policy1 and lays his plans with his eye on distant possibilities1 well knowing that his immediate actions are liable to misunderstanding1 and may prove to be a complete failure unless the opportunity is accorded him of realizing his far-reaching schemes4 ,and1 in the same way1 youth is spent in education which derives all its value from the expected years of manhood1 and all the days of a good life are necessarily a preparation for that which is to come after3 we must study in order that we may teach2 we must train ourselves for duties which will come upon us1 as we may reasonably suppose1 in some distant future4 ,yet our to-morrow is unknown2 we are not to boast ourselves of it2 we cannot tell what a day may bring forth1 and must therefore live only in to-day4 ,now the solution of this difficulty leads us to one of the profoundest of all spiritual truths4 ,it is this3 ,no life can be worth anything at all apart from the ,eternal ,god1 and faith in ,him4 ,life cannot be really lived if it is merely a measure of sliding sand taken from under the feet of the years4 ,our swift days cannot be effectually and wisely used unless we are linked with ,him who embraces in ,himself the past1 the present1 and the future4 ,our work1 whatever it may be1 cannot be rightly done unless we are1 and know ourselves to be1 in the great ,taskmaster's sight4 ,the proper use of each day can only be made if we are confident that our times are in ,his hands2 only in this quiet assurance can we have composure and detachment of spirit enough to give our whole strength to the duty in hand4 ,we must be sure that the ,master-,artist knows the whole mosaic1 and is ordering all the parts1 before we can surrender ourselves to the task of putting to-day's piece into its place2 we must have complete faith in the ,architect who is designing the whole structure1 before we can have our mind at leisure from itself to chip our block of stone or to carve our tiny gurgoyle4 ,we can only live in the present1 making the most of that which is really ours1 on condition that we have ,god as our ,future1 relieving us of all anxious care1 and assuring to us just strength for to-day4 ,thus our text has an implied contrast1 which we may draw out in this way3 ,boast not thyself of to-morrow1 for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth2 but boast thyself in ,god all the day long1#fgf for thou knowest that ,he will bring forth righteousness1 wisdom1 and love continually4 ,now let us follow out some of the consequences of this spiritual attitude4 ,examine the condition of these restless human hearts all around us without ,god4 ,they are all toiling for to-morrow4 ,here is one making money1 as it is called2 he is looking forward to laying aside so many thousands this year2 in a few more years he hopes to realize a round sum which will relieve him from the necessity of toil and of further money-making4 ,his eye is set upon that goal4 ,at last he reaches it4 ,now his desire should be satisfied1 but no1 ,sheol and ,abaddon are never satisfied1 and the eyes of man are never satisfied4#fgg ,he does not stay a night at the desired goal2 he is off before sunset2 all the strain and the fret must be faced over again4 ,or look at the boundless ambition which possesses godless men2 honours achieved only whet their appetite for more4 ,we need not assume that the ambition is unworthy2 all we have to notice is its insatiability2 in politics1 in literature1 in art1 in social distinction1 it is like ,sheol and ,abaddon1--a maw that ever opens2 a gulf that can swallow anything and everything1 yet never be filled4 ,the ,,lxx4 addition#fgh seems to regard this uncontrolled desire as the mark of deficient culture2 and1 spiritually speaking1 no doubt it is4 ,men without ,god are always uncultured2 they have not found the centre of their being1 they have not procured the key-stone to their accumulated knowledge1 and it is in consequence1 not an arch through which they can travel to any goal1 but a confused pile which blocks the way4 ,these desperate strivings and loud-tongued1 undisciplined desires are an abomination to the ,lord1 because they mar ,his mighty plan and introduce disorder where ,he intended order1 discord where ,he intended harmony1 deformity where ,he intended beauty4 ,they are the work of egoism instead of theism4 ,it is needless to dwell upon the heart-sores and the disappointments which fall to the lot of the people whom we are thinking of4 ,what ghastly mockery the morrows on which they counted prove to be6 ,in some lonely and rocky island1 girdled by the moaning of the dreary seas1 and cut off from all the interests which gave to life its excitement1 egotism ends its days4 ,or it is on some restless couch1 surrounded by all the outward trappings of wealth and power1 that the dying spirit cries1 ,my kingdom for an inch of time6 ,the man who by his brilliant genius has drawn all his generation after him passes1 bearing through ,europe the pageant of his bleeding heart1 to a hopeless grave4 ,the woman who has achieved the end of her ambition1 ruling the courts of fashion1 the acknowledged queen of salons1 ends her days with a sense of frustration1 cynical in her contempt for the world which was foolish enough to follow and admire her4 ,but1 on the other hand1 here is one who boasts himself in ,god4 ,lord1 it belongs not to my care1 is the language of his spirit1 ,whether ,i die or live2 ,to love and serve ,thee is my share1 ,and that ,thy grace must give4 ,the first thing that strikes you in him in his perfect peace4 ,his mind is stayed on ,god4 ,the future has no terrors for him1 nor has it any joys4 ,god is all in all to him1 and ,god is his now4 ,his treasure is in possession1 and moth and rust do not corrupt it1 nor can thieves break through or steal4 ,to say that he is contented seems too mild a term for so positive and joyous a calm4 ,but in contrast with the discontent which prevails everywhere outside of ,god1 it is worth while to dilate on this passive virtue of contentment4 ,that endless worry about little things has ceased3 he is not annoyed because some one fails to recognise him2 he is not affected by the malicious or scandalous things which are said about him2 he is not anxious for human recognition1 and is therefore never distressed because others are more courted than he is2 he knows nothing of that malignant passion of jealousy which is worse than the cruelty of wrath and the flooding of anger2#fgi he does not want wealth and he does not dread poverty4 ,he says3-- ,some have too much1 yet still do crave2 ,i little have1 and seek no more3 ,they are but poor though much they have1 ,and ,i am rich with little store3 ,they poor1 ,i rich2 they beg1 ,i give2 ,they lack1 ,i leave2 they pine1 ,i live4#fhj ,when we have entered into this ,divine content and are made by our absolute trust in ,god free from care for the future1 it is wonderful how quick we become to see good in apparent evils4 ,to the world this is so incredible that it suspects insincerity1 but there is nothing more sincere and more real4 ,a poor child who was blind found the greatest blessing in the affliction1 saying1 ,you see1 ,i can give more to the ,missionary ,society than the other children1 because ,i can knit in the dark1 and have not to spend money on candles4 ,you go to one of ,god's children expecting to find him broken down and rebellious under some great and undeserved calamity1 but you find that he has discovered a blessing in the loss before you get there1 and is actually rejoicing1 or at any rate he is replying to all provocations1 ,the ,lord gave and the ,lord took away2 blessed be the name of the ,lord4 ,he is afflicted1 but you cannot think of him as afflicted1 for all the days of the afflicted are evil1 but he that is of a cheerful spirit hath a continual feast4#fha ,yes1 it is that illusive and imaginary morrow that robs us of our peace2 it is the misgiving1 the anxious care1 the dark foreboding4 ,but when we put ,god our ,father in place of the morrow1 and know that ,he comprehends and sees all that we have need of1 the peace which passes all understanding settles down upon our spirit1 and steals into our eyes1 and breathes on our lips1 and men perceive even in us why our ,father is called the ,god of ,peace4 ,the second thing which strikes us in those who have learnt to make their boast in ,god rather than in the morrow is the service which they render to their fellows4 ,this is not only because they are able to turn their undivided attention to the duty which lies nearest1 and to do with all their heart what their hand finds to do1 but the very spirit of serenity in which they live is a constant help and blessing to all who are around them4 ,it may have been given to you to come into contact with such a soul2 in his presence your restlessness dies away1 it seems as if your burning brow had been touched with a soothing hand2 perhaps with half-open eyes you were treading the borderland dim 'twixt vice and virtue1 and that quiet spirit seemed like a clear shaft of the dawn revealing where you trod2 perhaps you were heart-broken with a great sorrow1 and the restfulness and confidence of that strong soul gave you an indefinable consolation1 hope broke into your heart1 and even joy4 ,in receiving that help from what the man was rather than from what he gave1 you became aware that this was the highest service that any human being can render to another4 ,it is a great thing to succour the physical and material sufferings of men2 it is a greater to bring them clear truths and to give them some stimulus and guidance in the intellectual life2 but it is greatest of all to communicate spiritual sustenance and power1 for that means to bring souls into actual and conscious contact with ,god4 ,one of the noblest examples of this service to humanity is furnished in the life and the writings of ,st4 ,paul4 ,his personal presence became the new creation of that ancient heathen civilisation1 and countless individual souls were1 through the inner life which he presented1 brought to a complete change and made new creatures in ,christ4 ,his writings have been1 ever since he died1 a constant source of life and strength to many generations of men4 ,he has been misunderstood1 the ignorant and unstedfast have wrested what he wrote1 but none the less he has been to the ,church a perpetual regenerator1 and1 as a great writer#fhb of our own day has declared1 ,the doctrine of ,paul will arise out of the tomb where for centuries it has lain covered2 it will edify the ,church of the future2 it will have the consent of happier generations1 the applause of less superstitious ages4 ,now what is the secret of this power8 ,it is given in his own words1 ,for to me to live is ,christ1 and to die is gain4#fhc ,he was able to fling himself with that passionate temerity into the present duty1 he was able to preach the word with that victorious vigour in season and out of season1 just because the whole burden of the unknown future was rolled away from him1 and he1 more than any man that ever lived1 understood what it is to live just for to-day4 ,every ,christian may possess the same secret2 it is the open secret of the ,sermon on the ,mount2 as our gracious ,lord told us1 we may be as the lilies of the field and as the birds of the air1 without anxiety or misgiving1 knowing that our ,heavenly ,father cares for us4 ,it is not given to us all to be great philanthropists1 great reformers1 great preachers1 but it is put within the reach of all to render to others the sweet service of abiding always in trustful and loving submission to ,god's will1 and of shedding upon all the light of our peace4 ,and this leads us to notice one last feature of this true spiritual life4 ,it has an honour of its own1 though it is not an earthly honour2 it has a reward1 though it is not a material reward4 ,whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof1 and he that waiteth on his master eats of the honour4#fhd ,that is a saying which can only apply in a very modified degree to earthly service and human masters4 ,how many loyal servants of kings have been deserted by their lords at the critical moment1 and left to eat the fruit of disgrace and ignominy6 ,but the saying applies in its fulness to our ,master ,christ and ,his service4 ,think of the ,christian life under this simple figure2 it is like the careful cultivation of the fruit tree4 ,he is the ,vine4 ,our sole concern is to keep in touch with ,him1 to sit at ,his feet1 to watch for ,his fruit1 to see that no other concern disturbs the quiet relation of perfect loyalty and devotion to ,him4 ,our aim is not to do our own business or seek our own ends1 but to be sure that we are always awake to ,his purposes and obedient to the demands which ,he makes upon us4 ,it is not ours to reason why1 but it is ours to do at all costs whatsoever ,he bids us do to-day4 ,we have nothing to do with to-morrow2 we have no responsibility for the fruit1 for no fruit-bearing power lies in us4 ,all we have to do is to keep the fig tree4 ,now when we abide in this concentrated and whole-hearted devotion to our ,master1--when for us to live is ,christ1--then honour comes to us unsought1 but not unwelcome4 ,the fruit of service is to the taste of the true servant the highest honour that he can imagine4 ,we need no apocalyptic vision to assure us4 ,his word is enough1 confirmed as it is by a constant and growing experience4 ,the servants of our ,lord already stand before ,him1 holding in their hands the talents which they have gained for ,him2 already they hear ,his gracious ,well done1 and the sound of it is more musical in their ears than all the acclamations of their fellow-creatures4 ,this is their honour2 what could they have more8 they are counted one with ,christ2 they shared ,his travail1 and now they share ,his satisfaction and ,his joy4 ,and thus those who make their boast in ,god1 and do not boast of the morrow1 find that the morrow itself becomes clear to them in the light of ,his countenance2 they do in a sense know what it will bring forth3 it will bring forth what they desire1 for it will bring forth their ,father's will2 it will bring forth the victory and the glory of ,christ4 ,henceforth ye shall see ,him coming in the clouds of heaven4 ,is not that enough8 ,when our hearts have learnt to hanker only after ,god's will1 to desire only ,christ's victory1 they may boast themselves even of to-morrow2 for to-morrow holds in its bosom an assurance of blessing and joy4 ,,footnotes3 #fgc ,browning1 ,pippa ,passes4 #fgd ,prov4 xxiv4 #bg4 #fge ,prov4 xxii4 #c2 xxvii4 #ab4 #fgf ,psalm xliv4 #h4 #fgg ,prov4 xxvii4 #bj4 #fgh ,see heading of chapter4 #fgi ,prov4 xxvii4 #d4 #fhj ,sir ,edward ,dyer 7b4 #aedj74 #fha ,prov4 xv4 #ae4 #fhb ,matthew ,arnold4 #fhc ,phil4 i4 #ba4 #fhd ,prov4 xxvii4 #ah4 ,,xxviii4 ,,an ,,aspect ,,of ,,atonement4 ,he that hideth 77 his transgressions shall not prosper2 but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy4--,,prov4 xxviii4 #ac4 ,happy is the man that feareth alway2 but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief4--,,prov4 xxviii4 #ad4 ,the fear of the ,lord tendeth to life1 and he that hath it shall abide satisfied4 ,he shall not be visited with evil4--,,prov4 xix4 #bc4 ,by mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for1 and by the fear of the ,lord men depart from evil4--,,prov4 xvi4 #f4 ,the ,hebrew word 77 which is used for the idea of atonement is one which originally signifies to cover4 ,sin is a hideous sore1 a shocking deformity1 which must be hidden from the eyes of men1 and much more from the holy eyes of ,god4 ,thus the ,old ,testament speaks about a ,robe of ,righteousness which is to be thrown over the ulcerated and leprous body of sin4 ,apart from this covering1 the disease is seen working out its sure and terrible results4 ,a man that is laden with the blood of any person shall flee unto the pit3 let no man stay him1#fhe and though blood-guiltiness appears to us the worst of sins1 all sin is alike in its issue2 every sinner may be seen by seeing eyes fleeing unto the pit1 and no man can stay him or deliver him4 ,or1 to vary the image1 the sinful man is exposed to the violence of justice1 which beats like a storm upon all unprotected heads2 he needs to be covered2 he needs some shelter1 some hiding-place1 or he must be swept away4 ,but the objection which immediately occurs to us is this3 what is the use of covering sin if the sin itself remains8 ,the disease is not cured because a decent garment is drawn over the suffering part2 indeed1 it is not hard to conceive a case in which the covering might aggravate the mischief4 ,if the idea of covering is to be of any service1 it must be cleared from all misconception2 there is a kind of hiding which may be ruinous1 a garment which may drive the disease inward and hasten its deadly operation1 a covert from the storm which may crush and stifle the person whom it professes to protect4 ,he that covereth his transgressions1 in that way1 shall not prosper4 ,every attempt to conceal from ,god or from man or from oneself that one is diseased with sin is ineffectual3 every lame excuse which seeks to palliate the guilt2 every hypocritical pretence that the thing done has not been done1 or that it is not what men usually suppose it to be2 every ingenious argumentation which seeks to represent sin as something other than sin1 as a mere defect or taint in the blood1 as a hereditary and unavoidable weakness1 as an aberration of the mind for which one is not responsible1 or as a merely conventional and artificial offence1--all such attempts at hiding must be failures1 covering of that kind can be no atonement4 ,quite the reverse2 this trifling with conscience1 this deluded self-righteousness1 is the worst possible aggravation of the sin4 ,hidden in that way1 though it be1 as it were1 in the bowels of the earth1 sin becomes a poisonous gas1 more noxious for confinement1 and liable to break out in awful and devastating explosions4 ,the covering of sin#fhf which is spoken of in xvi4 #f is of a very different and of a quite particular kind4 ,combining this verse with the others at the head of the chapter1 we may observe that every effectual covering of sin in ,god's sight involves three elements1--confession1 forsaking1 and a changed practice4 ,first1 there is confession4 ,this appears on the face of it to be a paradox3 the only way of covering sin is to uncover it4 ,but it is strictly true4 ,we must make a clean breast of it2 we must acknowledge its full extent and enormity2 we must spare the patient ear of ,god no detail of our guilt4 ,the foul1 explosive gases must be let out into the open1 since every attempt to confine them increases their destructive power4 ,the running sore must be exposed to the ,physician's eye1 since every rag put over it to hide it becomes steeped in its defiling tides4 ,it is true1 confession is a painful and a weary task3 it is like removing a heap of dust and refuse by spadefuls1--each bit as it is disturbed fills the atmosphere with choking particles and noisome smells2 worse and worse is revealed the farther we go4 ,we came to confess a single fault1 and we found that it was but a broken sherd lying on the foul and pestilential heap4 ,confession leads to confession1 discovery to discovery4 ,it is terribly humiliating4 ,am ,i then so bad as this8 is the horrified cry as each candid admission shows only more and worse that must be admitted4 ,true confession can never be made into a priest's ear1--to men we can only confess the wrongs which we have done to men2 but true confession is the awful tale of what we have done to ,god1 against whom only we have sinned and done evil in ,his sight4 ,it is sometimes urged that confession to a priest gives the penitent relief3 possibly1 but it is a false relief2 since the eye of the priest is not omniscient1 the sinner confesses only what he chooses1 brings the broken sherd1 and receives absolution for that in lieu of removing the whole heap of abominations that underlie4 ,when we have gone as far as we can in laying ourselves bare to man1 there remain vast untraversed tracts of our life and our mind which are reserved2 ,private road is written on all the approaches1 and trespassers are invariably prosecuted4 ,it is only to ,god that a real confession can be made1 because we know that to ,him all is necessarily evident2 with ,him no subterfuges avail2 ,he traverses those untraversed tracts2 there are no private roads from which ,he is excluded2 ,he knoweth our thoughts afar off4 ,the first step in the covering of sin is to realize this4 ,if our sins are to be really covered they must first be laid bare2 we must frankly own that all things are open to ,him with whom we have to do2 we must get away from the priests and into the hands of the ,high ,priest2 we must abjure the confessional and bring ,god ,himself into the secret places of our hearts to search us and try us and see if there be any evil way in us4 ,the reserve1 and the veilings1 which every individual cannot but maintain between himself and all other individuals1 must be torn away1 in full and absolute confession to ,god ,himself4 ,secondly4 ,there is a confession1 especially that fostered by the habit of confessing to priests1 which is unaccompanied by any forsaking of the evil1 or any departing from iniquity in general4 ,many times have men gone to their priests to receive absolution beforehand for the sin which they intended to commit2 or they have postponed their confession to their deathbeds1 when there will be1 as they suppose1 no further sins to turn from4 ,confession of that kind is devoid of all significance2 it covers no sins1 it really only aggravates them4 ,no confession is of the least avail--and indeed no real confession can be made to ,god at all--unless the heart turns away from the evil which is confessed1 and actually departs at once1 so far as it knows and is able1 from all iniquity4 ,the glib language of confession has been and is a deadly snare to multitudes4 ,how easy it is to say1 or even to musically chant1 ,we have done that we ought not to have done2 we have left undone that which we ought to have done4 ,there is no pain in such a confession if we once distinctly admit that it is a normal and natural state of mind for us to be in1 and that as we say it to-day1 so we shall say it to-morrow1 and again the next day to the end4 ,but real confession is so painful1 and even heart-rending1 because it is only of value when we begin from that moment onwards to do what we ought to do1 and to leave undone what we ought not to do4 ,it is well for us1 perhaps1 to confess not so much sin in the abstract as our own particular transgressions4 ,sin is too shadowy a monster for us to definitely avoid and forsake2 like death1 its kinsman1--,death of whom ,milton says3-- ,what seemed his head ,the likeness of a kingly crown had on1-- ,sin is formless1 vague1 impalpable4 ,but our own individual transgressions can be fixed and defined2 bringing ourselves to the test of the ,law1 we can say particularly1 ,this practice of mine is condemned1 this habit of mine is sinful1 this point of my character is evil1 this reticence1 this indolence1 this reluctance1 in confessing ,christ and in serving ,his cause1 is all wrong2 and then we can definitely turn our back on the practice or the habit1 we can distinctly get rid of the blot in our character1 we can fly this guilty silence1 rouse ourselves from our selfish indolence4 ,we live to grow less like what we have been2 and it is this act of the will1 this resolute purpose1 this loathing what once you loved1 and turning towards that which once you ignored1--it is1 in a word1 the twin process of repentance and conversion1 that constitutes the second act in this covering of sin4 ,not1 of course1 that in a moment the tyranny of old habits can be broken1 or the virtue of new activities acquired2 but the forsaking and the departing from are instantaneous exertions of the will4 ,zaccheus1 directly the ,lord speaks to him1 stands forth1 and breaks with his sins1 renounces his extortions1 resolving to make amends for the past1 and enters on a new line of conduct1 promising to give the half of his goods to the poor4 ,that is the essential seal of every true confession3 ,whoso confesseth and forsaketh his transgressions4 ,thirdly4 ,this has led us to see that the confession of sins and the conversion from them must issue in a positive practice of mercy and truth1 in order to make the process of which we are speaking complete3 ,by mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for4 ,it is this part of the covering which is so easily1 so frequently1 and so fatally overlooked4 ,it is supposed that sins can be hidden without being removed1 and that the covering of what is called imputed righteousness will serve instead of the covering of actual righteousness4 ,to argue against this view theoretically is at the present day happily quite superfluous2 but it is still necessary to contend against its subtle practical effects4 ,there is no verity more wholesome and more needed than the one contained in this proverb4 ,sin may be summed up in two clauses3 it is the ,want of ,mercy and it is the ,want of ,truth4 ,all our illconduct to our fellow-men comes from the cruelty and hardness of our selfish nature4 ,lust and greed and ambition are the outcome of pitilessness2 we injure the weak and ruin the helpless1 and trample on our competitors1 and stamp out the poor2 our eye does not pity4 ,again1 all our offence against ,god is insincerity or wilful lying4 ,we are false to ourselves1 we are false to one another1 and so we become false to the unseen verities1 and false to ,god4 ,when a human spirit denies the spiritual world and the spiritual ,cause which can alone account for it1 is it not what ,plato used to call a lie in the soul8 ,it is the deep inward and vital contradiction of consciousness2 it is equivalent to saying1 ,i am not ,i1 or1 ,that which is1 is not4 ,now when we have lived in sin1 without mercy or without truth1 or without both2 when our life up to a certain point has been a flagrant selfishness of absolute indifference to our fellows1 or a flagrant lie denying ,him in whom we live and move and have our being2 or when1 as is so often the fact1 the selfishness and the falseness have gone together1 an inextricable and mutually dependent pair of evils1 there can be no real covering of the sin1 unless selfishness gives place to mercy and falsehood to truth4 ,no verbal confession can possibly avail1 no turning from the past iniquities1 however genuine for the time1 can have any permanent significance1 unless the change is a reality1 an obvious1 living1 and working fact4 ,if a man supposes that he has become religious1 but remains cruel and selfish1 pitiless1 unmerciful to his fellow-men1 depend upon it that man's religion is vain2 the atonement in which he trusts is a fiction1 and avails no more than the hecatombs which ,carthage offered to ,melcarth availed to gain a victory over ,rome4 ,if a man counts himself saved1 but remains radically untrue1 false in his speech1 insincere in his professions1 careless in his thought about ,god1 unjust in his opinions about men and the world1 he is certainly under a lamentable delusion4 ,though he has1 as he thinks1 believed1 he has not believed to the saving of his soul2 though he has undergone a change1 he has changed from one lie to another1 and is in no way better off4 ,it is by mercy and truth that iniquity can be covered4 ,now it will be generally admitted that we do not take the course which has just been described unless we have the fear of ,god before our eyes4 ,nothing but the thought of ,his holiness and the awe which it inspires1 and in some cases even1 nothing but the absolute terror of ,him who can by no means clear the guilty1 moves the heart of man to confession1 turns him away from his sins1 or inclines him to mercy and truth4 ,when the fear of ,god is removed from men's eyes they not only continue in sin1 but they quickly come to believe that they have no sins to confess2 for indeed when ,god is put out of the question that is in a certain sense true4 ,it is a mere fact of observation1 confirmed now by many changing experiences of humanity1 that it is by the fear of the ,lord men depart from iniquity2 and it is very significant to notice how many of those who have entirely put away the fear of the ,lord from their own eyes have strongly advocated keeping it before the eyes of others as the most convenient and economical police resource4#fhg ,many fervent free-thinkers are thankful that their opinions are only held by a minority1 and have no wish to see the whole of society committed to the cult which they would have us believe is all that their own religious nature requires4 ,but supposing that any one of us is led into the position of confession and conversion and amendment which is described in these ,proverbs3 what follows8 ,that person1 says the text1 shall obtain mercy4 ,the gracious ,father immediately1 unconditionally1 and absolutely pardons4 ,this is the burden of the ,old ,testament1 and it is certainly not repealed by the ,new4 ,if we confess our sins1 ,he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins4 ,repent1 and be converted1 said ,st4 ,peter to the crowd at ,pentecost1 that your sins may be blotted out4 ,the ,new ,testament is indeed on this point the louder and the clearer echo of the ,old4 ,the ,new ,testament explains that saying which sounds so strange in the mouth of a perfectly just and ,holy ,god1 ,i1 even ,i1 am ,he that blotteth out thy transgressions for ,mine own sake4#fhh ,human theologies have imagined obstacles in the way1 but ,god never admitted them for a moment4 ,clear as the truth that the soul which sins should die1 was the promise that the soul which turned from its sin1 and did that which is righteous in the eyes of the ,lord1 should live4 ,no earthly father1 frankly and unconditionally forgiving his penitent1 sobbing child1 could be so prompt1 so eager as ,god4 ,while the prodigal is yet a great way off the ,father runs to meet him1 and hides all his broken confessions in the rush of ,his embrace4 ,but we hesitate to admit and rejoice in this grand truth because of an uneasy fear that it is ignoring what is called the ,atonement of ,christ4 ,it is a very proper hesitation1 so long as we settle it within ourselves that these sweet and beautiful utterances of the ,old ,testament cannot possibly be limited or reversed by that ,gospel which came to give effect and fulfilment to them4 ,is not the solution of any difficulty that has occurred to us to be found here8 ,the sacrifice and the work of ,christ create in the human soul those conditions which we have been considering4 ,he came to give repentance unto ,israel4 ,it is ,his patient love in bearing all our infirmities and sins1 ,his mysterious self-offering on the ,cross1 that can effectually bring us to confession1 conversion1 and amendment4 ,our hearts may have been hard as the nether millstone1 but at the ,cross they are broken and melted4 ,no stern denunciation of sin has ever moved our stubbornness2 but as we realize what sin did to ,him1 when ,he became sin for us1 the fear of the ,lord falls upon us1 we tremble1 and cry1 ,what shall we do to be saved8 ,then again1 it is ,his perfect holiness1 the beauty of those stainless years ,he passed beneath the ,syrian blue1 which wakes in us the hankering desire for purity and goodness1 and makes us turn with a genuine disgust from the sins which must seem so loathsome in ,his sight4 ,his neither do ,i condemn thee2 go1 and sin no more1 gives us a more burning hatred of sin than all the self-righteous censures and condemnations of the ,pharisees4 ,it is in the pages of the ,gospels that we have first understood what concrete goodness is2 it has risen upon our night like a clear1 liquid star1 and the passion of it has entered into our souls4 ,and then1 finally1 it is the ,risen ,lord1 unto whom all power is given in heaven and in earth1 that can really transform our nature1 flood our heart with love1 and fill our mind with truth1 so that1 in the language of the proverb1 mercy and truth may atone for iniquity4 ,is it not because ,christ by ,his coming1 by ,his living1 by ,his dying1 by ,his risen power1 produces in the believer repentance and confession of sins1 conversion and departing from sin1 regeneration and actual holiness1 that we say ,he has covered our sins8 ,what meaning can be attached to ,atonement apart from its effects8 ,and in what other way1 we may ask1 could ,he really give us such a covering or atonement1 than by creating in us a clean heart and renewing a right spirit within us8 ,sometimes1 by a not unnatural confusion of language1 we speak of the sacrificial death of our ,lord as if it1 apart from the effects produced in the believing heart1 were in itself the ,atonement4 ,but that is not the language of the ,new ,testament1 which employs the idea of reconciliation#fhi where the ,old ,testament would employ the idea of atoning2 and clearly there can be no reconciliation accomplished between man and ,god until1 not only ,god is reconciled to man1 but man also is reconciled to ,god4 ,and it is when we come to observe more accurately the language of the ,new ,testament that this statement of the ,proverbs is seen to be no contradiction1 but an anticipation1 of it4 ,only the regenerate soul1 that in which the graces of the ,christ-life1 mercy and truth1 have been implanted by ,christ1 is really reconciled with ,god1 i4e41 effectually atoned4 ,and though the framer of the proverb had but a dim conception of the way in which the ,son of ,god would come to regenerate human hearts and make them in harmony with the ,father1 yet he saw clearly what ,christians have too often overlooked1 and expressed tersely what theology has too often obscured1 that every effectual ,atonement must include in itself the actual1 moral regeneration of the sinner4 ,and further1 whoever wrote the verse which stands at the head of our chapter understood what many preachers of the ,gospel have left in perplexing obscurity1 that ,god would necessarily1 from ,his very nature1 provide the offering and the sacrifice on the ground of which every repentant soul that turns to ,him could be immediately and freely forgiven4 ,,footnotes3 #fhe ,prov4 xxviii4 #ag4 #fhf ,it may be necessary to point out to the reader that in approaching the subject of atonement from the standpoint of the book of ,proverbs1 and merely in the expository treatment of the passages before us1 the so-called objective ground of atonement in the sacrifice of ,christ does not come into view1 but its necessity becomes manifest as each step in the exposition reveals how impossible it would be for us1 apart from the work of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 to realize those conditions which are here laid down as indispensable to pardon and acceptance with ,god4 #fhg ,voltaire rose once from the table at ,ferney1 where some atheists were discussing their views4 ,he said he could not let his servants hear this talk1 for they would rob and murder him if that was true4 #fhh ,isa4 xliii4 #be4 #fhi ,see ,rom4 v4 #aa4 ,this is the only place in the ,new ,testament where even in the ,authorised ,version the word atonement occurs4 ,but the contention of the text is not one of words1 but of facts4 ,whatever terms are used1 the ,gospels and the ,epistles all agree in identifying the salvation of ,god with an actual and practical righteousness wrought out by the ,holy ,spirit in the lives of those who believe in ,christ as their ,saviour4 ,,xxix4 ,,the ,,need ,,of ,,revelation4 ,where no vision is1 a people casts off restraint1 but he that keepeth the law is happy4--,,prov4 xxix4 #ah4 ,the form of the proverb shows that we are not to treat the vision and the law as opposite1 but rather as complementary terms4 ,visions are1 it is true1 especially the mark of the prophets1 and the law is often confined in a special sense to the ,pentateuch2 but there is a much wider usage of the words1 according to which the two together express1 with tolerable completeness1 what we mean by ,revelation4 ,the vision means a perception of ,god and ,his ways1 and is quite as applicable to ,moses as to ,isaiah2 and1 on the other hand1 the law covers all the distinct and articulate instruction which ,god gives to ,his people in any of ,his ways of self-communication4 ,come ye1 says ,isaiah1#fij and let us go up to the mountain of the ,lord1 to the house of the ,god of ,jacob2 and ,he will teach us of ,his ways1 and we will walk in ,his paths3 for out of ,zion shall go forth the law1 and the word of the ,lord from ,jerusalem2 where the whole context shows that1 not the ,mosaic ,law1 but rather a new and particular declaration of the ,lord's will1 is referred to4 ,but while the vision and the law are not to be treated as opposites1 it is possible to distinguish between them4 ,the vision is the actual contact between ,god and the human spirit1 which is the necessary condition of any direct revelation2 the law is the recorded result of such a revelation1 either passed from mouth to mouth by tradition1 or written permanently in a book4 ,we may then a little amplify the proverb for the sake of exposition3 ,where there is no living revelation1 no perceived contact between man and ,god1 there the bonds which hold society together are relaxed or broken2 but he that holds by the revelation that has been given1 obeying the law1 so far as it has been presented to him1 happy is he4 ,man has need of a revelation2 that is the assertion4 ,society1 as an ordered and happy body of men in which each person is rightly subordinated to the whole1 and in which law1 as distinct from individual caprice1 prevails1 requires a revealed law4 ,the light of nature is good1 but it is not sufficient4 ,the common sense of mankind is powerful1 but not powerful enough4 ,in the absence of a real and valid declaration of ,god's will times must come when the elemental passions of human nature will break out with unrestrained violence1 the teachings of morality will be disputed1 their authority will be denied1 and their yoke will be broken2 the links which hold the state and the community together will snap1 and the slow growths of ages may disappear in a moment4 ,it is not difficult to show the truth of this assertion from experience4 ,every people that emerges from barbarism has a vision and a law2 a certain revelation which forms the foundation1 the sanction1 the bond of its corporate existence4 ,when you can point to a tribe or a group of tribes that know nothing of ,god1 and therefore have no idea of revelation1 you at once assure us that the people are sunk in a hopeless savagery4 ,we are1 it is true1 inclined to deny the term revelation to those systems of religion which lie outside of the ,bible1 but it is difficult to justify such a contraction of view4 ,god has not left ,himself anywhere without a witness4 ,the more closely we examine the multitudinous religions of the earth1 the more clearly does it appear that each of them had at its origin a definite1 however limited1 revelation4 ,the idea of ,one all-powerful1 good1 and wise1 ,god is found at the beginning of each faith that can be traced back far enough1 and the actual condition of heathen systems always suggests a decline from a higher and a purer religion4 ,we may say1 then1 with much plausibility1 that no lasting and beneficial form of human society has ever existed apart from a vision and a law4 ,but leaving the wide field of comparative religions1 do we not see an illustration of the truth of the text in the ,european countries which are more subject to our observation8 ,in proportion as a people loses its faith in revelation it falls into decay4 ,this was made manifest in the experience of the ,french ,revolution4 ,when the ,jacobins had emancipated themselves from the idea of ,god1 and had come out into the clear light of reason1 so terribly did they cast off restraint that their own leader1 ,robespierre1 endeavoured with a feverish haste to restore the recognition of ,god1 assuming himself the position of high pontiff to the ,supreme ,being4 ,the nearest approach that the world has probably ever seen to a government founded on ,atheism was this government of the ,french ,revolution1 and a more striking commentary on this text could hardly be desired4 ,but the need of a revelation can be apprehended1 apart from all appeals to history1 by simply studying the nature of the spirit of man4 ,man must have an object of worship1 and that object must be such as to command his worship4 ,auguste ,comte thought to satisfy this need of the heart by suggesting ,humanity as the ,grand tre1 but ,humanity was and is nothing but an abstraction4 ,feeling this himself1 he recommended the worship of woman1 and he prostrated his heart before ,clotilde de ,vaux2 but sacred and beautiful as a man's love of a woman may be1 it is no substitute for worship4 ,we must have quite another than ourselves and our own kind1 if our hearts are to find their rest4 ,we must have an ,almighty1 an ,infinite2 we must have one who is ,love4 ,until his spirit is worshipping1 man cannot realize himself1 or attain the height of his intended stature4 ,again1 man must have an assurance of his own immortality4 ,while he believes himself to be mortal1 a creature of a day1 and that an uncertain day1 it is impossible for him to rise much above the level of other ephemeral things4 ,his pursuits must be limited1 and his aims must be confined4 ,his affections must be chilled by the shadow of death1 and in proportion as he has nobly striven and tenderly loved1 his later years must be plunged in hopeless gloom1 because his efforts have been ineffectual and his beloved have gone from him4 ,no juggling with terms2 no half-poetic raptures about the choir invisible1 can meet the mighty craving of the human heart4 ,man must be immortal1 or he is not man4 ,he thinks he was not made to die4 ,but to meet these demands of the spirit what1 apart from revelation1 can avail8 ,that metaphysics is futile practically all men are agreed4 ,only the philosopher can follow the dialectics which are to prove the existence of ,god and the immortality of the soul4 ,and even the philosopher seems to grow pale and wizened in the process of his demonstration1 and wins at last a vantage-ground of cold conviction1 to find that there is no comfort there4 ,but can science offer the assurance which philosophy was unable to give8 ,let us listen to the conclusion of a scientific writer on this subject1 one who has lost his hold on revelation and can realize a little of what he has lost4 ,the highest and most consoling beliefs of the human mind1 he says1 are to a great extent bound up with the ,christian religion4 ,if we ask ourselves frankly how much1 apart from this religion1 would remain of faith in a ,god1 and in a future state of existence1 the answer must be1 very little4 ,science traces everything back to primeval atoms and germs1 and there it leaves us4 ,how came these atoms and energies there1 from which this wonderful universe of worlds has been evolved by inevitable laws8 ,what are they in their essence1 and what do they mean8 ,the only answer is1 ,it is unknowable4 ,it is behind the veil1 and may be anything4 ,spirit may be matter1 matter may be spirit4 ,we have no faculties by which we can even form a conception1 from any discoveries of the telescope or microscope1 from any experiments in the laboratory1 or from any facts susceptible of real human knowledge1 of what may be the first cause underlying all these phenomena4 ,in like manner we can already1 to a great extent1 and probably in a short time shall be able to the fullest extent to trace the whole development of life from the lowest to the highest2 from protoplasm1 through monera1 infusoria1 mollusca1 vertebrata1 fish1 reptile and mammal1 up to man2 and the individual man from the microscopic egg1 through the various stages of its evolution up to birth1 childhood1 maturity1 decline1 and death4 ,we can trace also the development of the human race through enormous periods of time1 from the modest beginnings up to its present level of civilisation1 and show how arts1 languages1 morals1 and religions have been evolved gradually by human laws from primitive elements1 many of which are common in their ultimate form to man and the animal creation4 ,but here also science stops4 ,science can give no account of how these germs and nucleated cells1 endowed with these marvellous capacities for evolution1 came into existence1 or got their intrinsic powers4 ,nor can science enable us to form the remotest conception of what will become of life1 consciousness1 and conscience1 when the material conditions with which they are always associated1 while within human experience1 have been dissolved by death1 and no longer exist4 ,we know as little1 in the way of accurate and demonstrable knowledge1 of our condition after death as we do of our existence--if we had an existence--before birth4#fia ,science frankly confesses that she can tell us nothing of the things which it most concerns us to know4 ,on those things she is no farther advanced than she was in the days of ,aristotle4 ,never do we feel how much men need a revelation so vividly as when we have grasped the first principles of such a great scientific thinker as ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 and realize how far he is able to take us and how soon he has to leave us4 ,how does it meet the craving of the soul for ,god to show us the slow stages by which man became a living soul8 ,as well might you try to satisfy the musician's ear by telling him how his art had grown from the primitive tom-tom of the savage4 ,how can it help the life to be lived wisely1 lovingly1 and well1 in the midst of the uncertainty of the world1 and confronted by the certainty of death1 to be told that our physical structure is united by a thousand immediate links with that of other mammals4 ,such a fact is insignificant2 the supreme fact is that we are not like other mammals in the most important respects2 we have hearts that long and yearn1 minds which enquire and question--they have not2 we want ,god1 our heart and our flesh crieth out for the living ,god1 and we demand an eternal life--they do not4 ,how can science pretend that what she does not know is not knowledge1 while she has to confess that she does not know precisely the things which it most concerns us as men to know8 ,how can the spirit of man be content with the husks which she gives him to eat1 when his whole nature craves the kernel8 ,what probability is there that a man will close his eyes to the sun because another person1 very clever and industrious1 has shut himself up in a dark cellar1 and tries to persuade him that his candle is all the light he may legitimately use1 and what cannot be seen by his candle is not real8 ,no1 science may not prove revelation1 but she proves our need of it4 ,she does her utmost1 she widens her borders1 she is more earnest1 more accurate1 more informed1 more efficacious than ever2 but she shows that what man most wants she cannot give1--she bids him go elsewhere4 ,but now it may be said3 ,it is one thing to prove that man needs a revelation1 and another to show that a revelation has been given4 ,that is perfectly true1 and this is not the place to adduce all the evidence which might prove that revelation is a reality2 but what an advance we have made on the cold1 self-satisfied deism of the eighteenth century1 which maintained that the light of nature was enough1 and revelation was quite superfluous1 when the truest and most candid voices of science are declaring with such growing clearness that for the knowledge which revelation professes to give1 revelation1 and revelation alone1 will suffice6 ,we ,christians believe that we have a revelation1 and we find that it suffices4 ,it gives us precisely those assurances about ,god and about the soul without which we falter1 grow bewildered1 and begin to despond4 ,we have a vision and a law4 ,our ,bible is the record of the ever-widening1 ever-clearing vision of ,god4 ,the power and authority of the vision seem to be the more convincing1 just because we are permitted to see the process of its development4 ,here we are able to stand with the seer and see1 not the long onian stages of creation which science has been painfully tracking out in these later days1 but the supreme fact1 which science professes herself unable to see1 that ,god was the ,author of it all4 ,here we are able to see the first imperfect conception of ,god which came in vision and in thought to the patriarch or sheikh in the earliest dawn of civilisation4 ,here we can observe the conceptions clearing1 through ,moses1 through the ,psalmists1 through the ,prophets1 until at last we have a vision of ,god in the person of ,his ,son1 who is the brightness of the ,father's glory1 the express image of ,his countenance4 ,we see that ,he1 the unseen ,creator1 is ,love4 ,our ,bible1 too1 is the record of a law1--a law of human conduct1 the will of ,god as applied to earthly life4 ,at first the law is confined to a few primitive practices and outward observances2 then it grows in perplexity and multiplication of details2 and only after a long course of discipline1 of effort and apparent failure1 of teaching and deliberate disobedience1 is the law laid bare to its very roots1 and presented in the simplified and self-evidencing form of the ,sermon on the ,mount and the apostolic precepts4 ,it is not necessary to start with any particular theory about the ,bible1 any more than it is necessary to know the substance of the sun before we can warm ourselves in his beams4 ,it is not necessary to look for scientific accuracy in the histories and treatises through which the vision and the law are communicated to us4 ,we know that the vessels are earthen1 and the presupposition all through is that the light was only growing from the glimmer of the dawn up to the perfect day4 ,but we know1 we are persuaded1 that here1 to seeing eyes and humble hearts1 is the revelation of ,god and of ,his will4 ,nor is it only in the ,bible that ,god speaks to us4 ,there have been times in the history of ,christendom--such times as the middle of the eighteenth century--when though the ,bible was in men's hands1 it seemed to be almost a dead letter4 ,there was no vision1 and the people cast off restraint4 ,it is by living men and women to whom ,he grants visions and reveals truths1 that ,god maintains the purity and power of ,his revelation to us4 ,he came in vision to ,fox and the early ,friends1 to ,zinzendorf and the early ,moravians1 to ,wesley and the early ,methodists4 ,seldom does a generation pass but some seers are sent to make the ,word of ,god a living influence to their age4 ,the vision is not always unmixed with human error1 and when it ceases to be living it may become obstructive1 a cause of paralysis rather than of progress4 ,but ,augustine and ,jerome1 ,benedict and ,leo1 ,francis and ,dominic1 ,luther and ,calvin1 ,ignatius ,loyola and ,xavier1 ,fnlon and ,madame ,guyon1 ,jonathan ,edwards and ,channing1 ,robertson and ,maurice1 ,erskine and ,mac,leod ,campbell1 are but examples of ,god's method all down the ,christian ages4 ,the vision comes pure and fresh as if straight from the presence of ,god4 ,traditionalism crumbles away4 ,doubt retreats like a phantom of the night4 ,mighty moral revolutions and spiritual awakenings are accomplished by the means of ,his chosen ones4 ,and it should be our desire and our joy to recognise and welcome these seers of ,god4 ,he that keepeth the law1 happy is he4 ,it is a mournful thing to be without a revelation1 and to grope in darkness at midday2 to hold one's mind in melancholy suspense1 uncertain about ,god1 about ,his will1 about the life eternal4 ,but it is better to have no revelation than to have it and disregard it4 ,honest doubt is full of necessary sorrow1 but to believe and not to obey is the road to inevitable ruin4#fib ,he that keepeth--yes1 he that looks into revelation1 not for curiosity1 but for a law by which to live2 who listens to the wise precepts1 not in order to exclaim1 ,how wise they are6 but in order to act on them4 ,there are many professing ,christians who are constantly plunged in gloom4 ,unbelievers may point the finger at them1 and say1 ,they believe in ,god1 in salvation1 and in heaven1 but see what an effect it has on them4 ,do they really believe8 ,oh1 yes1 they really believe1 but they do not obey2 and no amount of faith brings any lasting happiness apart from obedience4 ,the law requires us to love ,god1 to love men2 it requires us to abstain from all appearance of evil1 to touch not the unclean thing2 it bids us love not the world1 it tells us how impossible the double service of ,god and mammon is4 ,now though we believe it all it can give us nothing but pain unless we live up to it4 ,if there is a vision and we shut our eyes to it1 if there is a law and we turn away from it1 woe unto us6 ,but if we receive the vision1 if we loyally and earnestly keep the law1 the world cannot fathom the depth of our peace1 nor rise to the height of our joy4 ,,footnotes3 #fij ,isa4 ii4 #c4 #fia ,modern ,science and ,modern ,thought 7pp4 #bhi1 #bij71 by ,s4 ,laing4 ,chapman ,hall3 #ahij4 #fib ,cf4 ,prov4 xxviii4 #d1 #i3-- ,they that forsake the law praise the wicked3 ,but such as keep the law contend with them4 ,he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law ,even his prayer is an abomination4 ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,agur4 ,the rendering of the first verse of this chapter is very uncertain4 ,without attempting to discuss the many conjectural emendations1 we must briefly indicate the view which is here taken4 ,a slight alteration in the pointing 7 instead of the ,masoretic reading 7 changes the proper name ,ithiel into a significant verb2 and another slight change 7 for 7 gives us another verb in the place of ,ucal4 ,to remove the difficulty of the word oracle1 a difficulty which arises from the fact that the chapter which follows is not a prophetic utterance of the kind to which that word might be applied1 it is necessary1 with ,grtz1 to make a more serious change1 and to read for 4 ,and to explain the word 1 which occurs in a similar connection in ,numb4 xxiv4 #c1 #ae1 and #b ,sam4 xxiii4 #a1 we must suppose that some relative clause defining the nature of the man has been dropped4 ,the great uncertainty of the text is witnessed by the ,,lxx41 who place this passage after xxiv4 #bc1 and give a rendering which has very little resemblance to our present ,hebrew text4 ,it is highly probable1 both from the subject matter and from the numerical arrangements1 which are thoroughly ,rabbinical1 that this chapter and chap4 xxxi4 are of late origin1 and represent the last phase of the proverbial literature of ,israel in the days after the return from the ,exile4 ,if this be so1 the obscurity and uncertainty are characteristic of an artificial period of literature1 and of a decay in literary taste4 ,adopting1 then1 the alterations which have been mentioned1 we obtain the following result3-- ,the words of ,agur the son of ,jakeh1 the proverb-writer3 ,the utterance of the man who has questioned and thought3 ,i have wearied after ,god1 ,i have wearied after ,god1 and am faint1 for ,i am too stupid for a man1 and am without reason1 and ,i have not learned wisdom1 nor have ,i knowledge of the ,all ,holy1 etc4 ,this chapter is full of curious interest4 ,it is a collection of sayings which are apparently connected only by the circumstance that they were attributed to one person1 ,agur1 the son of ,jakeh4 ,whoever ,agur was1 he had a certain marked individuality2 he combined meditation on lofty questions of theology with a sound theory of practical life4 ,he was able to give valuable admonitions about conduct4 ,but his characteristic delight was to group together in quatrains visible illustrations of selected qualities or ideas4 ,it may be well for us to glance at these picturesque groups1 and then to return to the more philosophical and religious sentiments with which the chapter opens4 ,slander not a servant to his master1 says ,agur1 lest the servant curse thee1 and thou be held guilty4 ,even underlings have their rights2 the ,lord makes their cause ,his own1 and a curse from them falls with as much weight on a slanderer as the words of more influential people4 ,it is one of the surest tests of a man's character to see how he treats servants2 if he is uniformly courteous1 considerate1 just1 and generous in his treatment of them1 we may safely infer that he is a noble character2 if he is haughty1 domineering1 revengeful1 and malicious to them1 we need not attach much importance to his pleasing manners and plausible services to those whom he considers his equals4 ,now follow two of these singular quatrains4 ,there are four kinds of men pointed out1 and held up1 not to our abhorrence1 that is unnecessary1 but simply to our observation3 the unfilial1 the self-righteous1 the haughty1 and the rapacious who devour the poor and the needy4 ,it is not necessary to say anything about these persons4 ,their doom is stamped on their brows2 to name them is to condemn them2 to describe them is to write out their sentence4 ,again1 there are four things which like the bloodsucking horse-leech are always insatiable4 ,the vampire has her daughters in the earth2 it is1 as ,professor ,cheyne says1 a quasi-mythical expression4 ,these daughters are two1 nay1 they are three1 nay1 they are four2 and they are1 as it were1 the representatives of all creation3#fic ,sheol1 the invisible world1 which draws into itself the countless generations of the dead2 the generative principle1 which never wearies of producing new generations of the living2 the earth1 which is for ever absorbing the cadent waters of heaven2 and the fire1 which will consume all the fuel that is given to it4 ,now follows a further comment upon unfilial conduct3 the eye is regarded as the instrument by which a son shows his feelings to his parents2 he has not perhaps gone the length of uttering a curse against them1 still less of raising his hand to ill-treat them1 but his eye flashes derision upon his father1 and by its haughty obstinacy declares that it will not obey his mother4 ,the offending member shall be picked out by the clamorous ravens1 and eaten by the young of the soaring eagle4 ,next we have four more quatrains4 ,first1 there are the four wonders which baffle ,agur's understanding2 wonders which are comprehensible only to ,god1 as the ,vedic hymn says1-- ,the path of ships across the sea1 ,the soaring eagle's flight he knows4 ,the wonder seems to be in the reality and power of impalpable things4 ,how little of all that passes in the universe is open to observation1 or leaves a track behind4 ,the eagle mounts through the air as if he marched on a solid beaten road2 the serpent1 without limbs1 glides over the smooth rock where feet would slip1 and leaves no trace behind2 the ship ploughs the deep1 and over trackless waters follows her track which is invisible2 a man and a maid meet1 swift glances pass1 hearts blend1 and that is done which can never be undone2 or on the evil side1 the bad woman follows her illicit and hidden courses1 while to all appearance she is a faithful wife and mother4 ,secondly1 there are four human conditions which are intolerable to society1 viz41 an essentially servile spirit put into the place of authority2 a fool who1 instead of being corrected1 is confirmed in his folly by prosperity2 a marriage where the wife is hated2 and a slave girl in the position which ,hagar occupied with relation to ,sarah her mistress4 ,thirdly1 there are four kinds of animals which illustrate that size is not necessarily greatness1 and that it is possible to be insignificant and yet wise4 ,the tiny ants are a model of intelligent mutual cooperation and prudent thrift4 ,the little jerboas seem helpless enough1 but they are sensible in the choice of their homes1 for they dwell securely in rocky fastnesses4 ,the locusts seem as weak and inoffensive as insects can be1 yet they form a mighty army1 ordered in battle array2 they run like mighty men2 they climb the wall like men of war2 and they march every one in his ways1 and they break not their ranks4#fid ,the lizard seems but a plebeian creature2 you can seize it with your hands2 it is defenceless and devoid of natural capabilities2 and yet with its swift crawlings and tireless dartings it will find its way into kings' palaces1 where greater and stronger creatures cannot enter4 ,lastly1 there are four things which impress one with their stateliness of motion2 the lion1 the creature that is girt in the loins1 whether a war-horse or a greyhound1 the he-goat1 and--surely with a little touch of satire--the king when his army is with him4 ,then the collection of ,agur's sayings ends with a wise and picturesque word of counsel to exercise a strong restraint over our rising passions4 ,but now we may turn back to the passage with which the chapter opens4 ,here is the cry of one who has sought to find out ,god4 ,it is an old and a mournful cry4 ,many have emitted it from the beginning2 many utter it now4 ,but few have spoken with more pathetic humility1 few have made us feel with so much force the solemnity and the difficulty of the question as this unknown ,agur4 ,we see a brow wrinkled with thought1 eyes dimmed with long and close observation2 it is not the boor or the sot that makes this humiliating confession2 it is the earnest thinker1 the eager enquirer4 ,he has meditated on the wonderful facts of the physical world2 he has watched the great trees sway under the touch of the invisible wind1 and the waves rise up in their might1 lashing the shores1 but vainly essaying to pass their appointed boundaries2 he has considered the vast expanse of the earth1 and enquired1 on what foundations does it rest1 and where are its limits8 ,he cannot question the eternal power and divinity which can alone account for this ordered universe4 ,he has not1 like many thinkers ancient and modern1 dropped a plummet down the broad deep universe1 and cried1 ,no ,god4 ,he knows that there is a ,god2 there must be an ,intelligence able to conceive1 coupled with a power able to realize1 this mighty mechanism4 ,but who is it8 ,what is ,his name or ,his ,son's name8 ,here are the footsteps of the ,creator1 but where is the ,creator ,himself8 ,here are the signs of ,his working on every hand4 ,there is an invisible power that ascends and descends on the earth by staircases unseen4 ,who is ,he8 ,these careering winds1 before which we are powerless1 obey some control2 sometimes they are upgathered like sleeping flowers2 who is it that holds them then8 ,these great waters sway to and fro1 or they pour in ceaseless currents from their fountains1 or they gather in the quiet hollows of the hills2 but who is it that appoints the ocean1 and the river1 and the lake8 ,who feeds them all1 and restrains them all8 ,whose is the garment which holds them as a woman carries a pitcher lashed to her back in the fold of her dress8 ,the earth is no phantom1 no mirage1 it is solid and established2 but who gave to matter its reality1 and in the ceaseless flux of the atoms fixed the abiding forms1 and ordered the appropriate relations8 ,ah6 what is ,his name8 ,has ,he a son8 ,is man1 for instance1 ,his son8 ,or does the idea of the ,eternal and ,invisible ,god imply also an ,eternal ,son1 a ,being one with ,him1 yet separable1 the object of ,his love1 the instrument of ,his working1 the beginning of ,his creation8 ,who is ,he8 ,that ,he is holy seems an inevitable conclusion from the fact that we know what holiness is1 and recognise its sovereignty4 ,for how1 in thinking of the mighty ,being who made all things1 dare ,i give ,him a lower attribute than that which ,i can give to my fellow-men8 ,how dare ,i withhold from ,him that which ,i know of the ,highest and the ,best8 ,but though ,i know that ,he is holy1 the ,all ,holy ,one ,i do not know4 ,my weak and sinful nature has glimpses of ,him1 but no steady visions4 ,i lose ,him in the confused welter of things4 ,i catch the gleam of ,his face in the hues of the rainbow and in the glow of the eternal hills2 but ,i lose it when ,i strive to follow among the angry gatherings of the stormclouds1 in the threatening crash of the thunder1 the roar of the avalanche1 and the rent ruins of the earthquake4 ,and the man1 considering all things1 questioning1 seeking1 exclaims1 ,i am weary and faint4 ,the splendours of ,god haunt his imagination1 the sanctities of ,god fill his conscience with awe1 the thoughts of ,god lie as presuppositions behind all his thinking4 ,but he has not understanding2 baffled and foiled and helpless1 he says that he is too brutish to be a man4 ,surely a man would know ,god2 surely he must be but one of the soulless creatures1 dust of the dust1 for he has not the knowledge of the ,holy ,one4 ,to this impetuous hail of questions an answer comes4 ,for indeed in the fact that the questions are put already the answer lies4 ,in the humble cry that he is too stupid to be a man is already the clearest proof that he is raised incalculably above the brute4 ,but who is it that offers the answer in vv4 #e-i8 ,it would seem as if ,agur himself has suggested the question--a question borrowed probably from some noble heathen thinker2 and now he proceeds to meet the wild and despairing outcry with the results of his own reflection4 ,he does not attempt the answer on the lines of natural religion4 ,his answer in effect is this3 ,you cannot know ,god1 you cannot by searching find ,him unless ,he reveals ,himself2 ,his revelation must come as an articulate and intelligible word4 ,as the ,psalm says--for it seems to be a quotation from ,psalm xviii4 #cj--;,every word of ,god is tried3 ,he is a shield unto them that trust in ,him4 ,agur appeals to a written revelation1 a revelation which is complete and rounded1 and to which no further addition may be made 7ver4 #f74 ,it was probably the time when ,ezra the scribe had gathered together the ,law and the ,psalms and the ,prophets1 and had formed the first scriptural canon4 ,since then a great deal has been added to the canon1 these words of ,agur among the rest1 but the assertion remains essentially true4 ,our knowledge of ,god depends on ,his self-revelation1 and the method of that revelation is to speak1 through the lips of ,god-possessed men1 words which are tried by experience and proved by the living faith of those who trust in ,god4 ,i am that ,i am has spoken to men1 and to ,him1 the ,eternally-existent1 have they ascribed the visible universe4 ,the ,god of ,israel has spoken to men1 and they have learnt therefore to trace ,his hand in history and in the development of human affairs4 ,the ,holy ,one has in prophets and poets spoken to men1 and they have become aware that all goodness comes from ,him1 and all evil is hateful to ,him4 ,and lastly1 ,his ,son has spoken to men1 and has declared ,him in a way that never could have been dreamed1 has shown them the ,father1 has revealed that new unutterable ,name4 ,the answer to the great cry of the human heart1 the wearied1 fainting human heart1 is given only in revelation1 in the tried word of ,god1 and completely only in the ,word of ,god that was made flesh4 ,the proof of that revelation is furnished to all those who trust in the ,god so revealed1 for ,he becomes a shield to them2 they abide under the shadow of ,his realized presence4 ,it is not possible to add unto the words of ,god2 our speculations lead us farther1 but they only lead us into error2 and by them we incur ,his reproof1 and our fictions become disastrously exposed4 ,the answer to philosophy is in revelation1 and they who do not accept the revealed answer are left asking eternally the same weary and hopeless question1 ,what is his name1 and what is his son's name8 ,and now1 with a quaint and practical homeliness which is very suggestive1 ,agur notices two conditions1 which he has evidently observed to be necessary if we are to find the answer which revelation gives to the enquiry of the human heart after ,god4 ,first of all we must be rid of vanity and lies4 ,how true this is6 ,we may hold the ,bible in our hands1 but while our hearts are void of seriousness and sincerity we can find nothing in it1 certainly no word of ,god4 ,a vain person and an untruthful person can receive no genuine revelation2 they may believe1 or think that they believe1 the current religious dogmas1 and they may be able to give a verbal answer to the question which we have been considering1 but they cannot have the knowledge of the ,holy ,one4 ,more than half the godlessness of men is due simply to want of earnestness2 they are triflers on the earth1 they are painted bubbles1 which burst if any solid thing touches them2 they are drifting vapours and exhalations1 which pass away and leave not a wrack behind4 ,but there are many men who are serious enough in their search for knowledge1 and yet are vitiated through and through by a radical want of truthfulness4 ,they are prepared for facts1 but only facts of a certain sort4 ,they want to know ,god1 but only on condition that ,he shall not be supernatural4 ,they want to study the truths of the spiritual world1 but only on condition that the spiritual shall be material4 ,o remove far from me vanities and lies6 ,then there is a second condition desirable for the due appreciation of religious truth1 a social and economical condition4 ,agur might have known our modern world with its terrible extremes of wealth and poverty4 ,he perceived how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven2 and1 on the other hand1 how probable it is that hungry men will be seduced into stealing and betrayed into blasphemy4 ,that there is much truth in this view we may easily satisfy ourselves by considering the wealthy classes in ,england1 whose question1 urged through all their pomp and ceremonial of heartless worship1 is practically1 ,who is the ,lord8 and by then looking at the eight hundred thousand paupers of ,england1 amongst whom religion is practically unknown except as a device for securing food4 ,and when we have duly weighed this saying of ,agur's1 we may come to see that among all the pressing religious and spiritual problems of our day1 this also must be entertained and solved1 ,how to secure a more equable distribution of wealth1 so that the extremes of wealth and poverty should disappear1 and all should be fed with the food that is needful for them4 ,,footnotes3 #fic ,cf4 the ,sanscrit ,hitopadesa1 ,fire is never satisfied with fuel1 nor the ocean with rivers1 nor death with all creatures1 nor bright-eyed women with men2 also the ,arabic proverb1 ,three things are of three never full1 women's womb of man1 wood of fire1 and earth of rain4 #fid ,joel ii4 #g4 ,,xxxi4 ,a ,,good ,,woman4 ,o woman-hearts1 that keep the days of old ,in living memory1 can you stand back ,when ,christ calls8 ,shall the heavenly ,master lack ,the serving love1 which is your life's fine gold8 ,do you forget the hand which placed the crown ,of happy freedom on the woman's head1 ,and took her from the dying and the dead1 ,lifting the wounded soul long trodden down8 ,do you forget who bade the morning break1 ,and snapped the fetters of the iron years8 ,the ,saviour calls for service3 from your fears ,rise girt with faith1 and work for ,his dear sake6 ,and ,he will touch the trembling lips with fire1-- ,o let us hasten1 lest we come too late6 ,and all shall work2 if some must 'stand and wait1' ,be theirs that wrestling prayer that will not tire4 ,r4 ,o4 ,the last chapter of the book of ,proverbs consists of two distinct compositions1 and the only connection between them is to be found in their date4 ,the words of ,king ,lemuel1 a saying which his mother taught him1#fie and the description of a good woman1#fif must both be referred to a very late epoch of ,hebrew literature4 ,the former contains several ,aramaic words#fig and expressions which connect it with the period of the exile2 and the latter is an alphabetical acrostic1 i4e41 the verses begin with the successive letters of the alphabet2 and this artificial mode of composition1 which appears also in some of the ,psalms1 is sufficient of itself to indicate the last period of the literature1 when the ,rabbinical methods were coming into use4 ,about the words of ,lemuel1 of whom it may be observed we know nothing at all1 enough has been said in previous lectures4 ,we need here only notice that the mother's influence in the education of her son1 even though that son is to be a king1 comes very suitably as the introduction to the beautiful description of the good woman with which the chapter closes4 ,it is said that the mother of ,george ,,iii4 brought him up with the constantly-repeated admonition1 ,george1 be a king1 and that to this early training was due that exalted notion of the prerogative and that obstinate assertion of his will which occasioned the calamities of his reign4 ,kings have usually been more ready to imbibe such lessons than moral teaching from their mothers2 but whatever may be the actual result1 we all feel that a woman is never more nobly occupied than in warning her son against the seductions of pleasure1 and in giving to him a high sense of duty4 ,it is from a mother's lips we should all learn to espouse the cause of the helpless and the miserable1 and to bear an open heart for the poor and needy4#fih ,but now before coming to examine in detail the poem of the virtuous woman1 let us briefly recall what the book hitherto has taught us on the subject of womanhood4 ,it began with solemn and oft-repeated warnings against the strange woman1 and echoes of that mournful theme have accompanied us throughout3 the strange woman is a deep ditch1 a narrow pit2 he that is abhorred of the ,lord shall fall therein4#fii ,and even where the woman's nature is not corrupted by impurity we are several times reminded how she may destroy the peace of man's life by certain faults of temper4 ,if she is contentious and fretful she can make the house utterly unbearable2 it will be better to live in a corner of the housetop or in a desert land1 exposed to the continual downpour of the autumn rains1 than to be assailed by her tongue4#gjj ,the attempt to restrain her is like trying to grasp the wind1 or to seize an object which is smeared with oil4#gja ,we are reminded too how incongruously sometimes great beauty of person is combined with inward faults4 ,as a jewel of gold in a swine's snout1 so is a fair woman which is without discretion4#gjb ,but we must distinctly understand that these severe strictures on woman corrupted and woman imperfect are only so many witnesses to her value and importance4 ,the place she fills in life is so supreme that if she fails in her duty human life as a whole is a failure4 ,in her hands lie the issues of life for mankind4 ,the wisdom of woman builds her house1 and the folly of woman plucks it down with her hands4#gjc ,what the homes of a nation are1 the nation is2 and it is woman's high and beautiful function to make the homes1 and within her power lies the terrible capacity for marring them4 ,she1 much more than the king1 is the fountain of honour4#gjd ,the honour she gives and the honour she commands will decide the whole tone of society4 ,pure1 true1 and strong1 she makes men worship purity1 truth1 and strength4 ,corrupt1 false1 and vain1 she blights and blasts the ideal of man1 lowers all his aspirations1 excites his evil passions to a frenzy of iniquity1 degrades his soul to a level below the brutes4 ,the condition of woman is the touchstone of a civilised society4 ,again1 there is a sense in which woman is an interpreter and revealer of ,god to the human race4 ,she has religious intuitions and spiritual susceptibilities in which the other sex is usually deficient4 ,most religious systems in the world's history have overlooked her1 and have suffered accordingly4 ,the religion of ,jesus ,christ recognised her1 claimed for her her rightful place1 and to this day does much of its best work in the world through her gracious ministrations1 through her unquestioning faith1 through her unquenchable love4 ,it is as a foreshadowing of this religious significance which ,christ was to give to womanhood that the ,proverbs recognise the beautiful direct relation between ,god and the possession of a good wife4 ,whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing1 and obtaineth favour of the ,lord4#gje ,wealth1 as it is ordinarily understood1 is of the earth1--it can be derived from ancestors by inheritance1 or it can be earned by toil of hand and brain1--but every wife worthy of the name is far above all wealth3 she cannot be earned or inherited2 she comes1 as the mother of mankind came1 direct from the hand of the ,lord4#gjf ,the marriage tie is a thought of ,god's heart4 ,he ,himself has arranged the exquisite blending of life with life and spirit with spirit2 ,he has fitted man to woman and woman to man1 so that the perfect man is not the man alone1 the perfect woman is not the woman alone1 but the man and woman one flesh1 mystically united1 the completeness each of the other2 not two1 but a single whole4 ,we may now examine in detail this connected description of the virtuous woman1 whose value is not to be measured by material wealth1 and who yet1 from a merely material point of view1 is a source of wealth to those who are fortunate enough to call her theirs4 ,she is a wife4 ,the modern conception of a woman as an independent person1 standing alone1 engaged in her own business or profession1 and complete in her isolated life1 is not to be looked for in the book of ,proverbs4 ,it is the creation of accidental circumstances4 ,however necessary it may be in a country where the women are largely in excess of the men1 it cannot be regarded as final or satisfactory4 ,in the beginning it was not so1 neither will it be so in the end4 ,if men and women are to abide in strength and to develop the many sides of their nature1 they must be united4 ,it is not good for man to be alone2 nor is it good for woman to be alone4 ,there are some passages in the ,new ,testament which seem to invalidate this truth4 ,the advocates of celibacy appeal to the example of ,christ and to the express words of ,st4 ,paul4 ,but the ,new ,testament1 as our ,lord ,himself expressly declares1 does not abrogate the eternal law which was from the beginning4 ,and if ,he ,himself abstained from marriage1 and if ,st4 ,paul seems to approve of such an abstention1 we must seek for the explanation in certain exceptional and temporary circumstances2 for it is precisely to ,christ ,himself in the first instance1 and to ,his great ,apostle in the second1 that we owe our loftiest and grandest conceptions of marriage4 ,there was no room for a personal marriage in the life of ,him who was to be the ,bridegroom of ,his ,church2 and ,st4 ,paul distinctly implies that the pressing troubles and anxieties of his own life1 and the constant wearing labours which were required of the ,gentile ,apostle1 formed the reason why it was better for him1 and for such as he1 to remain single4 ,at any rate the virtuous woman of the ,proverbs is a wife3 and the first thing to observe is the part she plays in relation to her husband4 ,she is his stay and confidence3 ,the heart of her husband trusteth in her4 ,she is his natural confidante and counsellor2 her advice is more valuable than that of much cleverer people1 because it is so absolutely disinterested2 the hearts are in such vital contact that the merely intellectual communications have a quality all their own4 ,one may often observe in an ideal marriage1 though the husband seems to be the stronger and the more self-reliant1 the wife is really the pillar of strength2 if death removes her1 he is forlorn and bereft and helpless2 the gradual work of the years has led him to depend on her more and more1 to draw from her his best inspirations1 and to turn instinctively to her for advice and direction4 ,she doeth him good1 and not evil1 all the days of her life4#gjg ,it is not only when she comes as a young bride into his house1 bright with youth1 encircled with the glamour of early love1--then1 it is true1 the thought of her nerves his endeavours and quickens his eager steps as he turns homeward in the evening1--it is not only while her fresh charms last1 and her womanly beauty acts as a spell on him1 while the desire to retain her love disciplines and strengthens whatever is good in his character2 but right through to the end of her life1 when she has grown old1 when the golden hair is grey1 and the blooming cheeks are wrinkled1 and the upright form is bent1--when other people see nothing beautiful about her except the beauty of old age and decay1 he sees in her the sweet bride of earlier years1 to him the eyes appear unchanged and the voice thrills him with happy memories2 she ministers to him still and does him good2 not now with the swift alacrity of foot and the deft movement of the hand1 but with the dear1 loyal heart1 with the love which the years have mellowed and the trust which the changing circumstances of life have tested and confirmed4 ,it is this strong1 sweet core of life in the home which gives the man dignity and honour in public4 ,she is a crown to her husband4#gjh ,his influence in the life of his town or of his country is not always directly traced to its true source4 ,but it is that woman's noble sway over him1 it is the constant spur and chastening of her love1 which gives him the weighty voice and the grave authority in the counsels of the nation4 ,her husband is known in the gates1 when he sitteth among the elders of the land4#gji ,he can make but a poor return to her for all her quiet unobtrusive and self-sacrificing help year after year and on to the end1 but he can at least repay her with growing reverence and loyalty2 he can tell her1 as it were with the impassioned lips of a lover1 what he owes to her2 when her children rise up and call her blessed1 he can praise her1 saying1 ,many daughters have done virtuously1 but thou excellest them all4#gaj ,indeed it will be his growing conviction that of all the daughters of woman there is none equal to his wife4 ,her charms have grown upon him1 her character has ripened before his eyes1 her love has become at once stronger and more precious every year4 ,it is no flattery1 no idle compliment of courting-days1 no soft word to win the coy heart of the maiden1 but it is his own deep and sincere feeling2 it is said to her who is his and has been his for years1 and in whose assured possession he finds his greatest peace3 ,i do not question that other women are good and true1 but ,i am sure that you are better than all4 ,and so she is4 ,every true wife is the best wife4 ,the next point in the virtuous woman to which our attention is drawn is her unflagging industry4 ,her husband shall have no lack of gain4#gaa ,in addition to all those treasures of mutual love and spiritual converse1 all those invaluable services of counsel and guidance1 of criticism and encouragement1 she is a positive source of wealth to him4 ,she is the house-manager4 ,if he earns the bread in the first instance1 it is in her hands that it seems to be miraculously multiplied4 ,if he brings home the money which is enough for their wants1 it is she who turns the silver into gold and makes the modest means appear great wealth4 ,the fact is her hands are always busy4 ,the spindle1 the distaff1 the loom1 are within her reach and are constantly plied4 ,while she unravels the knotted cares of her husband in the evening with her bright and cheery talk1 while she encourages him in all his plans and heartens him for all his duties1 her busy fingers are making clothes for the children1 repairing1 adapting1 improving1 or else are skilfully constructing ornaments and decorations for the household1 turning the poor room into a palace1 making the walls beam with beauty and the hearts of all within laugh for joy4 ,there is something quite magical and impressive in woman's economy3 ,she is like the merchant ships2 she bringeth her food from afar4#gab ,no one knows how it is done4 ,the table is well spread1 the food is daintily served1 on infinitesimal means4 ,she finds out by the quick intuitions of love how to get the things which the loved ones like1 and by many a little sacrifice unperceived she produces effects which startle them all4 ,she has a secret of doing and getting which no one knows but she4 ,early passers-by have seen a light in the house long before the day dawns2 she has been up preparing the breakfast for the household1 and mapping out the work for all1 so that no hours may be wasted and no one in the family may be idle4#gac ,her boundless economies produce astonishing results4 ,one morning she has to announce to the husband and the children that she has managed to put together a little sum which will purchase the freehold of their house and garden4#gad ,her husband exclaims1 ,why1 how has it been done8 ,where has the money come from out of our little income8 ,she smiles significantly and will not tell2 but the tears moisten his eyes as he looks into her face and reads the story of self-denials1 and managings1 and toils1 which have issued in this surprise4 ,and the children look up with a sense of awe and wonder4 ,they feel that there is something of the supernatural about mother2 and perhaps they are right4 ,she has all the delicacy and even weakness of a woman1 but the life of constant activity and cheerful toil preserves her health and increases her strength4 ,idle women1 who lounge their days away in constant murmurings over their ailments1 speak contemptuously about her1--,she has the strength of a horse1 they say1 and can bear anything4 ,they do not know1 they do not wish to know1 that she is the author of her own strength4 ,it is her own indomitable will1 her own loving heart1 which girds her loins with strength and makes strong her arms4#gae ,there are others who carp at her on different grounds2 they do not understand how one with her husband's income can keep so comfortable a household or dress her children as she does4 ,those cushions of tapestry1 that clothing of fine linen and purple1 are an offence to her critics4 ,how she does it ,i am sure ,i don't know1 says one1 implying that there is something quite uncanny and disreputable about it4 ,she works like a slave1 says another1 with the tone of scorn that one would employ for a slave4 ,but that is the truth3 ,she perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable3 her lamp goeth not out by night4#gaf ,she is indeed indefatigable4 ,she actually makes garments which she can sell1 girdles for the merchants1#gag in addition to looking well to the ways of her household4 ,certainly she does not eat the bread of idleness4#gah ,she can1 however1 very easily bear the contemptuous criticisms of others4 ,the practical results of her life are sufficiently satisfying to make her a little independent4 ,she has secured herself and her household against the contingencies which harass other housewives4 ,the approach of winter has no alarms for her3 all the children and servants are warmly and sufficiently clad4#gai ,the uncertain future has no terrors for her3 she has made ample provision for it1 and can regard the unknown chances with a smile of confidence4#gbj ,and indeed1 whatever detractors may say behind her back1 it is not easy for any one to say anything severe in her presence4 ,for the same loving1 earnest1 diligent ways which have made her household comfortable and secure have clothed her with garments better than scarlet and linen4 ,strength and dignity are her clothing1--robes so gracious and beautiful that criticism is silenced in her presence1 while the hearts of all good and honest people are drawn out to her4 ,but here is another characteristic of the virtuous woman4 ,economy and generosity go hand in hand4 ,frugal livers and hard workers are always the largest givers4 ,this woman1 whose toil late at night and early in the morning has enriched and blessed her own1 is ready to help those who are less fortunate4 ,she spreadeth out her hand to the poor2 yea1 she reacheth forth her hands to the needy4#gba ,most women are naturally pitiful and shrink from the sight of suffering2 but while idle and self-indulgent women try to avoid the painful sight1 and turn their flow of pity into the channels of vapid sentimentality1 the good woman trains her sense of pity by coming into contact with those who deserve it1 and only seeks to avoid the sight of suffering by trying everywhere and always to relieve it4 ,among all the noble and ,christlike offices of woman this is the one which most strikingly connects her with the human life of our ,lord4 ,it is her function to excite and to cherish the quality of compassion in the human heart1 and by her trained skill and intuitive tact to make the ministrations of the community to the poor truly charitable instead of dangerously demoralizing4 ,man is apt to relieve the poor by the laws of political economy1 without emotion and by measure3 he makes a ,poor ,law which produces the evil it pretends to relieve2 he degrades the lovely word ,charity into a badge of shame and a wanton insult to humanity4 ,it is woman that spreads out her palm and reacheth forth her hand to the poor1 bringing her heart into the work1 giving1 not doles of money1 but the helpfulness of a sister's love1 the tenderness of a mother's solicitude1 the awakening touch of a daughter's care4 ,and the hand which is thus held out to the poor is precisely the hand which has been laid on the distaff and the spindle2 not the lazy hand or the useless hand1 but the hand which is supple with toil1 dexterous with acquired skill4 ,there are two reflections which must have occurred to us in following this description of the good woman4 ,her portrait has risen before our eyes1 and we ask1 ,is she beautiful8 ,we have watched her activities1 their mode and their result1 and we wonder whether she is religious4 ,favour is deceitful and beauty is vain1 but a woman that feareth the ,lord she shall be praised4#gbb ,that this woman has a beauty of her own seems clear1 and that she fears the ,lord is a fair inference to make4 ,it is idle to declaim against the charms of personal beauty2 we may call it deceitful and vain1 but it will not cease to be attractive4 ,men will not be reasoned or ridiculed out of that instinctive homage which they pay to a lovely face2 the witchery of bright eyes and arch looks1 the winsomeness of sweet contours and delicate hues1 will last1 we may surmise1 as long as the sun and moon endure2 and why should we dishonour ,god by supposing that ,he did not make the beauty which attracts and the attraction which the beauty excites8 ,but it is not impossible to open men's eyes to the beauty of a less transient and more satisfying kind which lies in the character and conduct of women4 ,if mothers accustom their sons to see those sterling attractions which permanently secure the affection and the devotion of a husband1 the young men will not be content with superficial beauties and vanishing charms in the women whom they choose4 ,and is not the beauty of woman--such beauty as we have been contemplating--the result of fearing the ,lord8 ,is it possible1 apart from a living faith in a living ,god1 to maintain that lovely wifeliness1 that self-sacrificing1 diligent love1 that overflow of pity to the poor and needy1 which constitute grace and loveliness of character8 ,has any one succeeded in even depicting an imaginary woman devoid of religion and yet complete and beautiful8 ,we have already noticed how suited the woman's nature is to receive religious impressions and to communicate religious influences2 we may now notice1 in concluding1 that this very characteristic renders a woman without ,god even more imperfect and unsatisfying than a man without ,god4 ,she is naturally inclined to cling to a person rather than to an idea1 to follow a person rather than a theory4 ,the only ,person to whom she can cling with absolutely good and hallowing results is ,god2 the only ,person whom she can follow and minister to without detriment to her womanhood and with gain to her spirit is ,christ4 ,a godless woman makes a sore shipwreck of life1 whether she becomes sensual and depraved1 or ambitious and domineering1 or bitter and cynical1 or vain and conventional4 ,in her ruin there is always a power as of a fallen angel1 and she can drag others with her in her fall4 ,if a man is wise then in choosing for himself a wife1 the first thing he will demand is that she shall be one that fears the ,lord1 one who shall be able to lead him and help him in that which is his truest life1 and to maintain for him a saving intercourse with the world of spiritual realities4 ,he may be assured that in her love to ,god he has the best guarantee of her love to him1 and that if she does not fear and love ,god the main sanction for their wedded happiness will be wanting4 ,finally1 where the woman who has been described is actually found in real life it is for us to recognise her and to reward her4 ,let society take note of her3 ,give her of the fruit of her hands1 and let her works praise her in the gates4 ,the great ,greek historian said that woman's highest praise consisted in not being mentioned at all4 ,that is not the teaching of ,revelation4 ,woman's best work is often done in silence and without observation1 but her highest praise is when the seeds sown in silence have grown into flowers of loveliness and fruit that is sweet to the taste1 and the whole community is forced to yield her the honour which is her due1 exalting1 with heartfelt admiration and with deep gratitude to ,god1 the ,wife1 the ,mother1 the ,ministrant to the ,poor4 ,,footnotes3 #fie ,prov4 xxxi4 #a-i4 #fif ,prov4 xxxi4 #aj-ca4 #fig ,e4g41 ver4 #b and ver4 #c3 cf4 the strange expressions and in vv4 #e1 #h4 #fih ,prov4 xxxi4 #h1 #i4 #fii ,prov4 xxii4 #ad1 xxiii4 #bg4 #gjj ,prov4 xix4 #ac1 xxi4 #i1 xxv4 #bd1 xxi4 #ai1 xxvii4 #ae4 #gja ,prov4 xxvii4 #af4 #gjb ,prov4 xi4 #bb4 #gjc ,prov4 xiv4 #a4 #gjd ,prov4 xi4 #af4 #gje ,prov4 xviii4 #bb4 #gjf ,prov4 xix4 #ad4 ,in the ,,lxx4 this clause is beautifully rendered 4 ,by the ,lord's ordinance woman and man are dovetailed together in a complete harmony4 ,the thought is well expanded in ,ecclesiasticus 7xxvi4 #a-c73 ,blessed is the man that has a virtuous wife1 for thereby his life is doubled4 ,a woman made for a man rejoices her husband1 and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace4 ,a virtuous wife is a good portion1 in the portion of them that fear the ,lord shall she be given4 #gjg ,prov4 xxxi4 #ab4 #gjh ,prov4 xii4 #d4 #gji ,prov4 xxxi4 #bc4 #gaj ,prov4 xxxi4 #bi4 #gaa ,prov4 xxxi4 #aa4 #gab ,prov4 xxxi4 #ad4 #gac ,prov4 xxxi4 #ae4 #gad ,prov4 xxxi4 #af4 #gae ,prov4 xxxi4 #ag4 #gaf ,prov4 xxxi4 #ah4 #gag ,prov4 xxxi4 #bd4 #gah ,prov4 xxxi4 #bg4 #gai ,prov4 xxxi4 #ba4 #gbj ,prov4 xxxi4 #be4 #gba ,prov4 xxxi4 #bj4 #gbb ,prov4 xxxi4 #cj4 ,,index ,,of ,,texts ,,in ,,proverbs ,,quoted ,,or ,,expounded4 ,,verses ,,pages ,,chapter ,i4 i4-ix4 #g #g #i1 #ae1 etc4 #aa-ad #bf1 #bg #ac #cb #ag #cd #ai #cj1 #cc #bd-ca #ce1 #cf #be #cd #ca #cd1 #cg #cb #be1 #cd ,,chapter ,,ii4 #aj #be #ab #bd #af #bd #ai #cd #ba #cg #bb #cc1 #cg ,,chapter ,,iii4 #a-aj #cg #f #df #h #ci #ab #ej #ac-ae #dh #af #ej #ah #di #bg #dc #bh #dc #bi #da #ca #ej #cc #da #ce #ea ,,chapter ,,iv4 #a-g #eb #h1 #i #ee #ab #fd #ad #ef #af1 #ag #bf1 #fc #ah #fc #ai #fb #bj-bc #eg #bd #ei #be-bg #fa ,,chapter ,v4 #c-bj #bg #h #ff #i #gb #aj #gb #aa #gb #ab-ad #bh1 #gb #ae-ai #fi #ba #fb1 #gb #bb #bi #bc #gc ,,chapter ,,vi4 #a-e #hj #f-h #hc #ab-ae #hd #af-ai #hh #bj-bc #ia #bd-ce #bg #be #fh #bf #gb1 #ge #bg1 #bh #ga #cb #bi #cc #gb #cd #gb #ce #gb ,,chapter ,,vii4 #a-e #ic #d #id #e-bg #bg1 #ie1 etc4 #h #ie #i #id #ad #abd #ae #fh #af1 #ag #fh #bb #ii ,,chapter ,,viii4 #a-f #ajg #g-i #ajh #aj-af #aji #ae-af #d #ag #aaj #ah #aji #bj #ajh #bb #aaj #bb-ca #aab1 etc4 #bf #aaj #bi #aaa #cj-cf #abj ,,chapter ,,ix4 #a-c #abc-d #d #abb #e #abd #f #abe #g #abe #h #cdh #i #abg #aj #i1 #abg #ab #cg1 #aca #ag #fh ,,chapter ,x4 #a #cjf #b #ace1 #ada #d #aci #ab #bji #ac #cdb #ad #afd #ae #ach1 #bij #ag #aha #ah #cci #ai #aga #bb #adb #bc #aaa1 #aef1 #cch #bh #aej #bi #aee #cj #aej ,,chapter ,,xi4 #a #bae #b #ahc #c #aea #d #adb #e #aej #f #adi1 #aej #g #aea #h #aeb #i #afi1 #agf #aj #aed #aa #aed #ab #agg #ac #afi #ad #bef #ae #hj1 #ccb #af #cii #ag #big #ah #aej #ai #aea #bj #aee #ba #aea #bb #cih #bd #adf1 #bih #be #adf #bf #bid #bg #aeb #bh #adj #cj #aeb #ca #aed ,,chapter ,,xii4 #a #afc1 #aha #b #aee #d #d1 #djb #e #agg1 #aih #f #afc1 #afi1 #agf #g #aej1 #aea #h #db #i #aci #aa #aeb1 #bfg1 #bge #ac #aeb1 #afc1 #afd #ad #afc #ae #ahc1 #bef #af #afc1 #aff #ag #ia1 #afc1 #afg #ah #afc1 #afd1 #afg1 #agb #ai #hi1 #afc1 #afh #ba #aeb #bb #afc1 #afh #bc #afc1 #cci #bd #bgb #be #afc1 #agc #bf #aec1 #aed #bg #bfe1 #bgc ,,chapter ,,xiii4 #a #abe1 #agi1 #aha #b #afd #c #aej1 #aga #d #bga #e #ajh #f #aeb #h #ach #i #aea #aj #agi1 #ahc1 #ahd #aa #ada #ab #aic1 #aid #ac #agi1 #aha1 #ahd1 #bei #af #aga #ag #ahb #ah #adj1 #agi #ai #aib #bb #ada1 #aec #bd #cji #be #aeb ,,chapter ,,xiv4 #a #cih #c #afe1 #agf1 #ahf #d #bfi #e #ia1 #agf #f #abf #g #aga1 #cci #i #aef #aj #aia1 et seq4 #aa #aej #ab #fe1 #aea #ac #aia1 #aie #ad #aeb #ae #agg #af #ahf #ag #bje #ai #aec #bj #ach1 #aci #ba #bid #bb #aeb #bc #aga #bd #ada1 #cdj #be #ia1 #agf #bf #aeb #bg #ae #bh #ccb #bi #bje #cj #baj #ca #adc1 #bia #cb #aec #cc #aga1 #cci #cd #d1 #aed #ce #cbh ,,chapter ,,xv4 #a #agb1 #bjc #b #aga #c #aig #d #agb1 #bjc1 #baj #f #ada1 #adb1 #baf #g #age #h #aef1 #aha #i #aee #aa #aih #ab #abf #ac #aie #ae #aie1 #ceg #af1 #ag #adc #ah #bjc #ai #bfd #bj #aha1 #cjf #bb #bef1 #ccb #bc #afe1 #agc #be #ahg1 #bia #bf #aee1 #agb #bg #ade #bh #aea1 #afi1 #agf #bi #aef #cj #aif #ca #ahd #cb #aha #cc1 etc4 #d1 #ahd1 #bae ,,chapter ,,xvi4 #a #agh #a-g #d1 #baf #b #aih #d #bja #e #aea1 #ahg #f #bbf1 #cfb #g #cbd #h #adb #i #baf #aa #bae #ab #cbg #ac #aec1 #cbg #ad #cbh #ae #cbh #af #adb #ag #aeb #ah #ahj #ai #ahj #bj #d1 #agi1 #ahc1 #ahh1 #baf #ba #age #bb #cdj #bc #age #bd #agc #be #aea #bf #bfe #bg #aed #bh #afi #bi #bg #cj #he #cb #bji #cc #d1 #bag ,,chapter ,,xvii4 #a #adc #b #ahd #c #aih #d #agg #e #adc1 #bia1 #cad1 #caf #f #ec1 #adc #g #ccb #h #ach #i #afi #aj #ahb #aa #bei #ab #bjd1 #cdc #ad #bje1 #bjh #ae #aee #af #cci #ag #bbg #ah #hj #ai #ahe #bj #afe #ba #cjf1 #cci #bb #aid1 #aie #bd #fa #be #cjf #bf #aec1 #aee #bg #agg1 #bje #bh #agg ,,chapter ,,xviii4 #a #bje1 #bci1 etc4 #b #aga #c #aed #d #afe #e #aee #f #afe #g #afe #h #afi #i #afg1 #bff #aa #ach #ab #ahj1 #ahi #ac #agj #ad #aid #ae #abg #af #ach #ah #bag #ai #bcd #bj #afd #ba #afd #bb #d1 #cii #bc #aci #bd #bbi1 #bcc ,,chapter ,,xix4 #a #adb1 #afe #b #bef #d #ach1 #aci #e #ia1 #afg #f #ach #g #c1 #aci1 #aff #h #beh #i #ia #aj #cdb #aa #bje #ab #cbh #ac #bib1 #cjf1 #cih #ad #d #ae #bfe #af #aeb1 #beh #ag #adf1 #bia #ah #cji #ai #bjf #bj #bef1 #bfa #ba #baf1 #beg #bb #afe1 #aih #bc #beh1 #cfb #bd #bfc #be #abf #bf #cjf #bg #beh #bh #afg #bi #beh1 #cdb ,,chapter ,,xx4 #a #bgi #b #cbi #c #bje #d #bfb #e #bef #g #aec #h #cbg #i #aih #aj #bae #aa #aec #ab #aig #ac #bjd #ad #hf #ae #adb1 #agf #af #hj #ag #afh #ah #bef1 #ccb #ai #afi #ba #ade #bb #baj #bc #bae #bd #aih #bf #cbg #bg #aih #bh #cbh #cj #caj ,,chapter ,,xxi4 #a #d1 #cbh #b #aea1 #aih #c #aef #d #ahh #e #bgb #f #ada #g #aej #h #aea #i #cih #aj #aea1 #agi #ab #aee #ac #bii #ad #ach #ae #aea1 #aeb #ag #bgf #ah #aeb #ai #cih #bj #adj1 #bgb1 #cci #ba #aeb #bc #afe #bd #ahj #be #bff #bf #ade #bg #aef #bh #afe1 #afg #bi #ahg #cj #bei #ca #bei ,,chapter ,,xxii4 #a #adc #b #adc1 #bhh1 #bib #c #ceb #d #adj1 #ahh #f #cjc #g #aci #h #aea #i #adf1 #bhh1 #cjj #aj #abf #aa #aec1 #afe1 #cbg #ab #aee #ac #bfc #ad #bhc1 #cih #ae #cjd1 #cdj #af #ada1 #bhh1 #big #ag1 etc4 #d #ah #afe #bb #d1 #bhh #bc #bhh #bd #bjd #bf1 #bg #hj #bi #bgb ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 #a-c #ccc #d #ade #e #adj #i #abe1 #agj1 #cdh #aj #bia #aa #bia #ac-ad #cjc-caj #ae #cjf #af #aff1 #cjf #ag #aea1 #cjh #ag-ba #cac #ah #aea #ba #adj #bd #cjf #bf-bh #abc #bg #cih #bi-ce #d1 #gf1 #bha ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 #a #aea #e #bef #f #bef #g #agg #i #abf1 #cda #aa1 #ab #e1 #aee1 #aig1 #bii #ae #bf1 #aea #af #aea #ag #cad #ah #cad #ai #aea #bj #aea #ba #e1 #cbi #bb #cbi #bc #ccj #bc-cd #c1 #e #bd #aed #be #aed #bf #agf #bg #ceb #bh #cad #bi #cad #cj-cd #hb1 #bgj #cd #bfc ,,chapter ,,xxv4 xxv4-xxix4 #e #b #afi #f1 #g #e #h #bjh #i #bjh #aa #agd #ab #afd1 #age #ad #ahj #ag #bdd #ah #afg #bj #agd #ba1 #bb #f1 #cad #bc #afi #bd #cih #bf #aec #bh #bjf ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 #a #cdj #b #afh #c-ab #cda-cdi #aj #cdf #ab #ahj #ac #bfc #ad #bfc #ae #bfc #af #bfc #ah #agj #ai #agj #bj #afi #ba #aff1 #bjd #bb #afi #bc-bh #afh #bd #aea #bf #aea ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 #a #cej #b #ahj #c #cda #d #cef #e #ahb #f #bcb #h #e1 #bdc #i #bcb #aj #bcc1 #bdd #aa #cjf #ab #ceb #ac #hj #ad #bbi1 #bcg #ae #cih #af #cih #ag #bca #ah #cej1 #cfj #ai #bcj #bj #cej1 #ced #ba #ahb #bb #cdj #bc-bg #e1 #adj1 #bgj ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 xxviiii4 generally #e #a #aee #b #ccb #c #bif #d #aed1 #che #f #adb #h #ada1 #big #i #aef1 #che #aa #adc #ab #aed1 #ccb #ac #cfb #ad #cfb #ae #ccb #af #ccb #ah #aeb #ai #bfg1 #bgj #bj #ade #bb #ade #bc #afh1 #age1 #ahb #bf #ch1 #ahc1 #cdh #bg #adf1 #bih #bh #aed ,,chapter ,,xxix4 #a #hh #b #e1 #aed1 #ccb #c #cjf #d #ccb #e #afh #f #aeb #g #cjj #h #bjd #i #cda #aa #aff1 #bje1 #cde #ab #ccc #ad #cbh #ae #caj #af #aea #ag #caj #ah #cge #bj #agj #bb #bjd #bc #ahj #be #cce #bf #cce #bg #adh ,,chapter ,,xxx4 xxx4 generally #f1 #chf #a-d #cij1 #cib #e-i #cic #h #adf #i #adf #ac #hi #bb #ccb1 #cci #be1 #bg #hc #ca #cbi #cb1 #cc #afg ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 xxxi4 generally #f1 #cig #a #cig #b-h #ccd #c #cig #d #bgh #e #bgh #f #bgh #g #bgh #h #agf #i #agf #aj-ca #djj1 #daj #bg #bgc #cj #cjb ,,general ,,index4 ,agassiz1 #add4 ,agriculture1 #adj1 #bfi4 ,agur1 #chf4 ,anger1 #bje4 ,ant1 the1 #hc4 ,atheism1 unknown to ,israel1 #aa1 #ah4 ,atonement1 meaning of1 #cfb1 #cga4 ,bacon1 #af1 #bcj4 ,bible1 its character1 #chb4 ,buddha1 his teaching quoted1 #ga4 ,burns1 quoted1 #bic4 ,carlyle1 #cje4 ,catholic1 the ,catholic ,church1 #bdf4 ,chastening1 #ea4 ,christ1 #ic1 #ajc1 #ajg1 #aag1 #abj1 #acc1 #adh1 #bab1 #bbg1 #bdg1 #beh1 #bgc1 #cah1 #cbf1 #ccj1 #cce1 #cdh1 #cfj1 #chc4 ---- ,his use of the ,proverbs1 #abd1 #abf1 #abg1 #abh1 #acj1 #aei1 #cad4 ,church1 the1 #bdg4 ,coleridge1 #af4 ,commercial life1 #da1 #hf1 #bah1 #bbf4 ,competition1 #ca4 ,confession1 #cfd4 ,conscience1 #bbe1 #beb1 #cdc4 ,contentment1 #cef4 ,conversion1 #ajd1 #bab1 #bhg1 #cbj4 ,corners1 #bie4 ,covetousness1 #cj4 ,creation1 the poem of1 #aab4 ,criticism1 #aha4 ,dandy1 the1 #ie4 ,darwin1 #af4 ,death1 not terrible1 #da4 ,diligence1 #aci1 #bfb et seq4 ,distribution1 economic1 #acf4 ,donatello1 #ahc4 ,drink1 #bge et seq4 ,drunkard1 the1 #gf1 #bgg4 ,ecclesiastes1 quoted1 #aj4 ,ecclesiasticus1 #i1 #ab1 #bb1 #ha1 #aci1 #add1 #afi1 #ahd1 #bah1 #bej1 #cjf1 #djj4 ,education1 #eb et seq41 #cjc et seq4 ,equality1 #bid4 ,evolution1 #aac4 ,faith1 the life of1 #cef4 ,fanaticism1 #bhg4 ,fitness1 in speech1 #agj1 #agd4 ,flattery1 #afh4 ,folly1 #fg1 #ib1 #abb1 #aca1 #bje4 ,fool1 the1 #ccg et seq4 ,forgiveness1 #cad et seq4 ---- ,god's1 #cgj4 ,francis1 ,st41 #aij4 ,friendship1 #bbg et seq4 ,gambling1 #cb4 ,god1 ,his existence1 #cia4 ---- men need ,him1 #dc4 ---- relation with human life1 #dg1 #aee1 #aig1 #aii1 #bag1 #bcf1 #beb1 #bia1 #cec4 ,gregg1 quoted1 #gc4 ,health1 result of wisdom1 #ci4 ,heathenism1 #aeh1 #cgg4 ,heaven1 #ei1 #afb1 #bgd4 ,hell1 #ei1 #gc4 ,henry ,,ii41 #ajf4 ,home1 #ec4 ,honesty1 #bbd4 ,hudibras1 quoted1 #bff4 ,humility1 #dd1 #abg1 #ahd1 #ahi4 ,idleness1 ruinous1 #bff4 ,immortality1 #cgh4 ,impurity1 #be1 #bg1 #bi4 ,indra1 drunk1 #bgi4 ,inspiration of the book of ,proverbs1 #aeg4 ,inwardness1 #fj4 ,jahveh1 #ae1 #ba4 ,jakeh1 #f4 ,joy1 #aic4 ,justification1 #afa4 ,king1 the1 #cbf et seq4 ---- ,divine right of1 #cca4 ,land1 the land question1 #bgj4 ,lanfranc1 anecdote of1 #bje4 ,law1 #aac4 ,lemuel1 #f1 #cif4 ,liberality1 #dc1 #ade4 ,lies1 #hi1 #acj1 #afg1 #ccj4 ,livingstone1 #ei4 ,lot1 the1 use of1 #bag4 ,love1 #bji1 #bce1 #caa4 ,man1 #aad4 ,marriage1 #fi1 #dja4 ,massa1 ,gen4 xxv4 #ad1 #f4 ,meekness1 #agb1 #baj4 ,milton1 quoted1 #ei1 #fi1 #aaa1 #acc1 #caf1 #cfg4 ,misanthrope1 the1 #bdj4 ,misapplication of ,scripture1 #cdf4 ,morality1 relation to science1 #aaf4 ,mother's influence1 #cig4 ---- neglect1 #ec4 ,murder1 #ij4 ,nabal1 #cci4 ,national righteousness1 #aed4 ,neighbourliness1 #bdd4 ,obedience1 #che4 ,parents1 duties of1 #cjf4 ,paton1 ,john1 #ed1 #bag4 ,paul1 ,st41 #cei4 ,pauperism1 #bij4 ,plain speaking1 #fe1 #ajb4 ,pleasure1 #bgf4 ,poor1 the1 #dc1 #ada1 #adc1 #agf1 #bhh et seq4 ,positivism1 #cgh4 ,pride1 #hi1 #agi et seq41 #baj4 ,proverbs1 book of1 its limitations1 #bb1 #baa1 #caf1 #cdg4 ,punishment1 #hg1 #cji et seq4 ,quarrelling1 #aff4 ,rashness1 #agj4 ,realism1 #ff1 #ib4 ,reason1 #cda4 ,remorse1 #gg4 ,repetition of ,proverbs1 #b 7note74 ,reproof1 #age4 ,revelation1 necessary1 #bj1 #cge et seq41 #cic4 ,revenge1 #caf4 ,robespierre1 #cgg4 ,rubies1 valley of1 #di4 ,science1 depends on theology1 #aac4 ---- its limitations1 #cgi1 #chj4 ,scorner1 the1 #abe1 #abi4 ,servants1 treatment of1 #chg4 ,shakespeare1 quoted1 #gc1 #hf1 #bcd1 #bda4 ,sin1 its nature1 #cfc1 #cfg4 ---- its results1 #ga1 #gd1 #aja4 ---- its seductions1 #fh4 ,sister1 #id4 ,sluggard1 the1 #hb1 #bfc4 ,socialism1 #acg1 #adg1 #cie4 ,solomon1 not the author of the whole book1 #b1 #ajf4 ,speech1 its power1 #afd4 ,suretiship1 #hj4 ,sweating1 #ca1 #bif4 ,sympathy1 #aif4 ,theism1 necessary to knowledge1 #ai4 ,temper1 #bjc1 #bjg4 ,temperance1 #bhj1 #bhf4 ,tennyson1 quoted1 #fg4 ,truth1 injured by drink1 #bhc4 ,wealth1 #ace et seq4 ---- true1 #cef4 ,wife1 the1 #cii et seq4 ,will1 freedom of1 #bea et seq4 ,wisdom1 meaning of1 #aj4 ---- person of1 #ib1 #ajh1 #abc4 ---- rewards of1 #cg1 #aji4 ---- the book of1 #i1 #aj4 ---- the book of1 quoted1 #aah4 ,woman1 #if1 #acb1 #cif4 ,work1 its blessings1 #bfh4 ,worthless man1 the1 #hd4 ,youth1 dangers of1 #cd4 ,zacchus1 #cfg4 ,zola1 #fg4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london4 ,,hodder ,,stoughton',s ,,new ,,works4 ,mackay of ,uganda4 ,a4 ,m4 ,,mackay1 ,pioneer ,missionary of the ,church ,missionary ,society to ,uganda4 ,by ,,his ,,sister4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,h4 ,,manesse4 ,fifth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,a very interesting biography of one of ,africa's most devoted missionaries and martyrs4--,times4 ,seldom have ,i read a more fascinating volume4--,echo4 ,a most valuable storehouse of facts and original documents about ,mackay4 ,few more engrossing or impressive works have ever been issued than this simple account of a pioneer missionary4--,record4 ,sir ,george ,burns1 ,bart41 ,his ,times and ,friends4 ,by ,,edwin ,,hodder1 ,author of ,the ,life and ,work of the ,seventh ,earl of ,shaftesbury1 ,k4,g42 ,the ,life of ,samuel ,morley1 etc4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,,manesse4 #hvo1 cloth1 #ads4 ,mr4 ,hodder1 who is well1 and in many respects favourably1 known by his biographies of ,lord ,shaftesbury and ,mr4 ,samuel ,morley1 has found an equally congenial theme in the life of a man who had not a little in common with these two eminent philanthropists4--,times4 ,the volume abounds with racy anecdotes and interesting incidents relating to business men1 literary men1 ministers1 philanthropists1 scientists1 soldiers1 and statesmen with whom ,sir ,george ,burns was on terms of personal friendship1 and is a charming and delightful record of a long and illustrious career4--,scotsman4 ,the ,life of ,sir ,william ,mc,arthur4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,thomas ,,mccullagh4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,,manesse4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,the ,living ,christ and the ,four ,gospels4 ,by ,r4 ,w4 ,,dale1 ,,ll4,d41 ,birmingham4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,,contents3 ,the ,argument from ,experience--,the ,validity of the ,argument from ,experience--,the ,direct ,appeal of ,christ to the ,spirit of ,man--,reply to ,criticisms on the ,preceding ,lectures--,the ,historical ,trustworthiness of the ,story contained in the ,four ,gospels3 how should the ,evidence be approached--,eusebius--,clement of ,alexandria and ,tertullian--,irenus--,tatian--,justin ,martyr--,marcion--,papias--,polycarp4 ,pax ,vobiscum4 ,by the ,author of ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world4 ,crown #hvo1 #as42 cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,forty ,days with the ,master4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,,bishop ,,huntington1 ,d4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth4 ,preparing4 ,life in ,christ and for ,christ4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,handley ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of ,ridley ,hall1 ,author of ,veni ,creator1 etc4 ,tenth ,thousand4 #cbmo1 cloth1 red edges1 #as4 ,,contents3 ,life in ,christ3 ,christ in ,life--,the ,bright and ,morning ,star--,the ,lord both of the ,dead and the ,living4 ,the ,miracles of ,our ,lord4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,m4 ,,taylor1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,the ,parables of ,our ,lord1 ,limitations of ,life1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,freedom ,through ,truth4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,john ,,cameron1 ,incumbent of ,st4 ,john's1 ,highton4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,sharpened ,arrows and ,polished ,stones4 ,a ,collection of ,scripture ,texts and ,illustrations for the ,christian ,worker and the ,home4 ,by ,c4 ,w4 ,,bibb4 ,with an ,introduction by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,j4 ,,gordon1 ,d4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,some ,central ,points of our ,lord's ,ministry4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,wace1 ,d4,d41 ,prebendary of ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral1 ,principal of ,king's ,college1 ,london1 and ,honorary ,chaplain-in-,ordinary to the ,queen4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,the ,apocalypse3 ,its ,structure and ,primary ,predictions4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,david ,,brown1 ,d4,d41 ,aberdeen4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth4 ,a ,commentary on ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles to ,ephesians1 ,philippians1 ,colossians1 and to ,philemon4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,,agar ,,beet1 ,author of ,commentaries on ,romans1 ,corinthians1 ,galatians1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,jacob ,herbert3 ,a ,study in ,theology4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,john ,,evans1 ,b4,a4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,bible ,studies3 ,i4 ,israel and ,judah4 ,,ii4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,the ,international ,sunday ,school ,lessons for #ahia4 ,by ,,geo4 ,f4 ,,pentecost1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,the ,south ,window1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #ds4 ,sheaves of ,ministry3 ,sermons and ,expositions4 ,by ,,james ,,morison1 ,d4,d4 #hvo1 cloth1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,contents3 ,christ the ,image of ,god--,the ,bible the ,book of ,god--,did ,christ abrogate the ,law8--,the ,open ,secret--,what of the ,heathen8--,missions and ,missionaries1 their ,ideals--,the ,wonderful ,invitation--,if ,indifferentism ,increase and ,mature1 ,what then8--,pardon--,is there a ,larger ,hope8--,strength and ,beauty in the ,sanctuary--,does ,god ,fix ,everything8 etc41 etc4 ,,the ,,foreign ,,biblical ,,library4 ,i4 ,sermons by ,schleiermacher1 with a ,biographical ,sketch4 ,translated by ,,mary ,f4 ,,wilson4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,ii4 ,a ,commentary on ,isaiah4 ,by ,professor ,,franz ,,delitzsch4 ,translated by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,b4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,canon ,t4 ,k4 ,,cheyne1 ,d4,d41 says3--,by far the most complete and equal commentary is that of ,dr4 ,franz ,delitzsch4 ,he who will patiently read and digest the new edition of this masterly work will receive a training both for head and heart which he will never regret4 ,,the ,,theological ,,educator4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,fcap4 #hvo1 cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 each4 ,i4 ,an ,introduction to the ,old ,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,h4 ,,wright1 ,d4,d4 ,,ii4 ,the ,writers of the ,new ,testament3 ,their ,style and ,characteristics4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,william ,,henry ,,simcox1 ,m4,a4 ,a ,good ,start3 ,a ,book for ,young ,men4 ,by ,j4 ,,thain ,,davidson1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,talks with ,young ,men1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,famous ,men of ,science4 ,by ,,sarah ,k4 ,,bolton1 ,author of ,successful ,men who have ,risen from the ,ranks1 etc4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,contents3 ,galileo ,galilei--,sir ,isaac ,newton--,carl ,linnus--,baron ,cuvier--,sir ,william and ,caroline ,herschel--,alexander von ,humboldt--,sir ,humphry ,davy--,john ,james ,audubon--,samuel ,finley ,breese ,morse--,sir ,charles ,lyell--,joseph ,henry1 ,,ll4,d4--,louis ,agassiz--,francis ,trevelyan ,buckland4 ,life among the ,close ,brethren4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #as4 #f;d4 ,,contents3 ,the ,close ,brethren as seen by an ,outsider--,a ,nearer ,view--,the ,saints at ,l-- ,m-- ,gardens--,a ,surprising ,discovery--,more about ,bethesda--,proselytising--,mr4 ,darby's ,false ,teaching--,disenchantment--,the ,great ,schism of #ahhj--;,from ,without the ,fold4 ,light in ,africa4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,macdonald4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,one of the brightest and most readable books of its class produced during recent years4 ,considerable space is devoted to native customs and superstitions2 and this chapter1 enlivened as it is from the author's own experience1 is to the general reader perhaps the most attractive portion of a book that has not a single dull or superfluous page4--,athenum4 ,the ,sermon ,bible4 ,to be completed in ,twelve ,volumes4 ,vol4 ,,vi4 ,matthew ,,xxii4 to ,luke ,,iii4 ,strongly bound in half buckram1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,a very complete guide to the sermon literature of the day4--,scotsman4 ,we do not hesitate to pronounce this the most practically useful work of its kind at present extant4 ,it is not a commentary1 but a ,thesaurus of sermons on texts arranged consecutively1 chapter after chapter and book after book4444 ,we are bound to say that the object announced by the compilers is on the way to be realised1 and here will be given the essence of the best homiletic literature of this generation4--,literary ,churchman4 ,the ,book of ,proverbs4 ,vol4 ,,xiii4 of ,the ,people's ,bible4 ,by ,,joseph ,,parker1 ,d4,d4 #hvo1 cloth1 #hs4 ,the ,visible ,god1 and ,our ,relation to ,him in ,creation and ,redemption4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,the ,expositor--,fourth ,series4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,the ,minister's ,pocket ,diary1 and ,clerical ,vade ,mecum for #ahia4 ,cloth edition1 with pocket and elastic band1 #bs4 ,roan ,tuck1 with pockets1 gilt edges1 #cs4 ,,containing3 ,pages ruled for ,recording--,list of ,communicants--,absentees--,residences-- ,when ,visited--,removals--,inquirers--,worker s--,candidates--,sermons ,preached--,date--,place--,text--,baptis ms--,marriages--,funerals1 etc4 ,natural ,theology and ,modern ,science4 ,donnellan ,lectures4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,kennedy1 ,b4,d41 ,rector of ,stillorgan4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth4 ,echoes of ,two ,little ,voices4 ,by ,g4 ,m4 ,s4 ,with an ,introduction by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,wilson1 ,d4,d41 ,barclay ,church1 ,edinburgh4 ,fcap4 #hvo1 cloth1 #as4 #f;d4 ,veni ,creator3 ,thoughts on the ,person and ,work of the ,holy ,spirit of ,promise4 ,by the ,rev4 ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of ,ridley ,hall1 ,cambridge4 ,third ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,whatever the ,principal of ,ridley ,hall writes is worth reading4 ,there is in it always a spirit of devotion and practical religion which tends to communicate itself to his readers with a blessed contagion4 ,he has the power to bring intense devotional piety into the common concerns of life2 he helps us to see how to bring the supernatural into intimate relations with the natural4--,guardian4 ,in it we discover a firm grasp of ,divine truth1 marked expository skill1 a deeply spiritual and reverent manner of approaching the subject4444 ,it is impossible to read this book without rising with a clearer appreciation of the nature and extent of the ,holy ,spirit's operations4--,record4 ,until the ,day ,break1 and other ,hymns and ,poems ,left ,behind4 ,by ,,horatius ,,bonar1 ,d4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,christian ,theism3 ,a ,brief and ,popular ,survey of the ,evidence upon which it rests1 and the ,objections urged against it ,considered and ,refuted4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,a4 ,,row1 ,m4,a4 7,oxon471 ,d4,d41 ,prebendary of ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral4 ,second ,edition4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,he writes clearly and forcibly1 he reasons calmly and justly4444 ,he has certainly made out a good case of ,christian theism1 and put the arguments for it in a clear and telling way4--,scotsman4 ,,important ,,to ,,all ,,bible ,,students4 ,,the ,,newberry ,,bible4 ,formerly known as ,,the ,,englishman',s ,,bible1 edited by ,,thomas ,,newberry4 ,,comprising3 ,the ,english-,hebrew ,bible and the ,english-,greek ,testament1 designed to give1 as far as practicable1 the ,accuracy1 ,precision1 and ,certainty of the ,original ,hebrew and ,greek ,scriptures on the ,page of the ,authorised ,version4 ,adapted both for the ,biblical ,student and for the ,ordinary ,english ,reader4 ,large ,type ,handy ,reference ,edition4 ,this ,edition of ,the ,englishman's ,bible contains numerous additional references2 the ,hebrew and ,greek words1 also1 with their ,english equivalents1 having been greatly increased4 ,it was formerly issued in six vols41 at #des41 and is now printed on a fine thin opaque ,india paper1 specially made1 and published at such a price as to place it within the reach of ,bible ,students4 ,issued in four ,bindings1 round corners1 gilt edges3-- ,persian leather1 bevelled boards #bas4 ,persian yapp1 leather lined #bes4 ,levanted morocco1 yapp1 leather lined1 silk sewn #ces4 ,a very superior edition1 in best ,levant yapp1 kid lined1 silk sewn #fjs4 ,the ,very ,rev4 the ,,dean ,,of ,,canterbury says3--,it will1 ,i think1 enable the ,english reader thoroughly to understand the original1 and place him in a position as near as possible to that of a ,hebrew scholar4 ,i find it executed with the utmost accuracy4 ,the late ,dr4 ,,horatius ,,bonar says3--,it is beyond all price4 ,its minuteness of detail1 its accuracy1 its perspicuity1 its scholar-like finish1 are such as to make one of the most trustworthy and precious volumes in connection with critical study that have ever issued from the press4 ,the ,supplement is issued separately1 ,royal #hvo1 cloth1 #ajs41 entitled ,,the ,,tabernacle ,,and ,,temple4 ,,with ,,illustrations4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,edited by ,rev4 ,w4 ,r4 ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,all ,volumes sold separately4 ,price #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,genesis4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d41 ,professor of ,new ,testament ,exegesis1 ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh1 ,author of ,the ,parables of ,our ,lord1 etc4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,exodus4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh1 ,author of ,christ ,bearing ,witness to ,himself1 etc4 ,the ,book of ,leviticus4 ,by the ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,author of ,gospels of ,yesterday4 ,the ,first ,book of ,samuel4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,third ,edition4 ,the ,second ,book of ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,third ,edition4 ,the ,book of ,proverbs4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,with a ,new ,translation4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah4 ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 ,aberdeen4 ,fifth ,edition4 ,isaiah4 ,chapters ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by the same ,author4 ,fifth ,thousand4 ,the ,prophecies of ,jeremiah4 ,with a ,sketch of his ,life and ,times4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a41 ,chaplain of ,lincoln's ,inn4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d41 ,london1 ,author of ,the ,ages before ,moses1 etc4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh1 ,author of ,the ,book of ,exodus1 etc4 ,third ,edition4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by the ,rev4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,israel's ,iron ,age4 ,second ,edition4 ,galatians4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a41 ,headingley ,college1 ,leeds4 ,second ,edition4 ,colossians and ,philemon4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d41 of ,manchester4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alfred ,,plummer1 ,d4,d41 ,master of ,university ,college1 ,durham4 ,second ,edition4 ,hebrews4 ,by the ,rev4 ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d41 ,author of ,a ,commentary on the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41 ,brasenose ,college1 ,oxford1 ,lord ,bishop of ,derry and ,raphoe4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alfred ,,plummer1 ,d4,d41 ,master of ,university ,college1 ,durham4 ,revelation4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d41 of the ,university of ,aberdeen4 ,,hodder ,,stoughton',s ,,recent ,,publications4 ,,by ,,the ,,late ,,charles ,,loring ,,brace4 ,i4 ,the ,unknown ,god2 or1 ,inspiration among ,pre-,christian ,races4 ,in #hvo1 cloth1 #abs4 ,a most valuable and remarkable book4--,church ,bells4 ,a singularly able contribution to the study of a fascinating subject1 throughout characterised by that large-hearted tolerance which is a characteristic of the time4--,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,,ii4 ,gesta ,christi3 ,a ,history of ,human ,progress under ,christianity4 ,third ,edition4 ,large crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,a really earnest and noble book4--,academy4 ,this really valuable book4--,daily ,news4 99 99 99 99 99 ,nunnery ,life in the ,church of ,england2 or1 ,seventeen ,years with ,father ,ignatius4 ,by ,,sister ,,mary ,,agnes1 ,o4,s4,b4 ,introduction by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,,lancelot ,,holland1 ,m4,a41 ,vicar of ,all ,saints'1 ,hatcham4 ,with ,portrait4 ,fourth ,thousand4 ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,the book is valuable as an illustration of the way in which the work of ,rome is being done in our land under ,church of ,england auspices4 ,we wish the book an extensive circulation4 ,young ,christians specially should be made cognisant of its story4--,christian4 ,life ,inside the ,church of ,rome4 ,by ,m4 ,f4 ,,clare ,,cusack 7the ,nun of ,kenmare74 ,second ,thousand4 ,in crown #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,miss ,cusack has a great deal to reveal1 and she speaks with no hesitating sound4 ,the book before us is something more than a revelation to the ,protestant world2 it is also a controversial treatise1 in popular form1 in which the doctrinal errors of the ,papacy are considered from the highest standpoint--the written ,word of ,god4 ,it is a book which should find a place on every ,protestant family's bookshelves4--,english ,churchman4 ,,important ,,work ,,by ,,the ,,dean ,,of ,,norwich4 ,the ,christian ,ministry3 ,its ,origin1 ,constitution1 ,nature1 and ,work4 ,a ,contribution to ,pastoral ,theology4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,,william ,,lefroy1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,norwich4 ,in one ,volume1 #hvo1 cloth1 #ads4 ,this is1 in every sense of the word1 a timely book4444 ,from the importance of the themes which it embraces1 ,dean ,lefroy's book is one that should be of great value4--,record4 ,in presenting his own views1 which he does with remarkable power and in the most lucid way1 the author has occasion to controvert the opinions of several recent writers1 a duty which he performs with great ability1 fairness1 and unvarying courtesy4 ,these lectures are by no means dry or dull reading2 they are lightened up by many passages of chastened eloquence2 they show ripe scholarship1 and a thorough mastery of materials by which a judgment is to be formed4--,scotsman4 ,,the ,,late ,,dr4 ,,hatch4 ,memorials of ,edwin ,hatch1 ,d4,d4 ,edited by ,,his ,,brother4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,there is noticeable throughout them a sincerity1 a strong affection1 and sureness of faith2 a tender-heartedness and sympathy for the lot of the poor and suffering which is real and often touching4 ,his best sermons are his simplest1 and his power shows itself most surely when he is dealing with matters of character and the conduct of life4--,spectator4 ,the ,growth of ,church ,institutions4 ,by ,rev4 ,,edwin ,,hatch1 ,d4,d4 ,second ,edition4 ,in crown #hvo1 #es4 ,standing quite by itself as a solid result of individual search1 a book stiff with significant facts and bursting with inferences4--,expositor4 ,towards ,fields of ,light4 ,sacred ,poems4 ,by the ,same ,author4 ,cloth1 gilt edges1 crown #hvo1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,they are exquisitely beautiful4--,church ,review4 ,these delicate and thoughtful poems breathe the very spirit of their author1 broad1 simple1 and sincere4--,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,personal and ,family ,glimpses of ,remarkable ,people4 ,by the ,venerable ,archdeacon ,e4 ,w4 ,,whately1 ,m4,a41 late ,chancellor of ,st4 ,patrick's and ,rector of ,werberg1 ,dublin4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 #f;d4 ,charming1 and very readable4--,english ,churchman4 ,a bright and pleasant book of cultivated and well-informed gossip4--,leeds ,mercury4 ,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,elmslie1 ,d4,d4 ,memoir and ,sermons4 ,with ,portrait4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,memoir by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,with ,reminiscences by ,professor ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d41 ,professor ,,henry ,,drummond1 ,rev4 ,,john ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 and ,rev4 ,,james ,,stalker1 ,d4,d4 ,in more ways than one this volume is full of interest4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,nicoll has outlined the personal career of the ,professor of ,hebrew for his pupils1 and of the ,presbyterian minister for his disciples1 whether directly or indirectly under his charge2 but1 in supplying them with an admirable selection of memorable words1 has given a wider public the opportunity of making acquaintance with the thoughtful life of an original religious mind4 ,the value of the portrait--for it should be valuable to those working for and with others in the spiritual struggles of the age--lies in the inspiration it should give to young thinkers in the ,christian ,church4 ,in these selections we have little that is not truly catholic in spirit4 ,we do not mean that ,professor ,elmslie's papers are in any way of classic rank1 but we do mean that they tell us of those serene depths over which roll the waves of this troublesome world1 powerless to affect their calm4 ,it is impossible by extracts to give an idea of the impression of strength made upon one by what are1 after all1 only popular sermons and surface-papers2 but we think some will thank us for calling attention to what we point to as typical of a young teaching spirit of our own time in its sensitive perceptiveness and practical administrative activity4--,spectator4 ,james ,macdonell 7of ,the ,times74 ,a ,story of ,self-,help4 ,by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,h4 ,,manesse4 #hvo1 #abs4 ,an admirable portrait4--,academy4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,robertson ,nicoll has enriched not only the literature of our day1 but the lives of many of us by his sincere1 sympathetic1 loyal1 and artistic rendering of what he fairly calls 'the only life of a journalist pure and simple ever written4' 444 ,this masterly monograph4--,daily ,telegraph4 ,imago ,christi3 ,the ,example of ,jesus ,christ4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,stalker1 ,d4,d41 ,m4,a41 ,glasgow1 ,author of ,the ,life of ,jesus ,christ1 ,the ,life of ,st4 ,paul1 etc4 ,fifteenth ,thousand4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,a delightful book upon a glorious subject1 by one who is better qualified to write it than any other living man4444 ,an immortal book4--,sword and ,trowel4 ,,second ,,edition1 ,,with ,,new ,,index4 ,the ,miracles of ,our ,lord4 ,expository and ,homiletic4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,john ,,laidlaw1 ,d4,d41 ,professor of ,theology1 ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh1 ,author of ,the ,bible ,doctrine of ,man1 etc4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,one of the most suggestive books we have seen lately on the study of the ,gospels4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,marked by the competent scholarship1 the sound and cautious exegesis1 the homiletic tact1 and the mastery of lucid and1 at times1 beautiful style which characterise his preaching4--,theological ,review4 ,joints in ,our ,social ,armour4 ,by ,,james ,,runciman1 ,author of ,a ,dream of the ,north ,sea1 etc4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,few sermons1 one would fancy1 could do more good than this book1 honestly considered4 ,it speaks plain sense on faults and follies that are usually gently satirised1 and makes fine invigorating reading4 ,the book warmly deserves success4--,scotsman4 ,mr4 ,runciman expresses himself with a vigour which leaves nothing to be desired4 ,he leaves no doubt of what he thinks1--and he thinks1 anyhow1 on the right side4444 ,altogether a very vigorous deliverance4--,spectator4 ,the ,makers of ,modern ,english4 ,by ,w4 ,j4 ,,dawson4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,the ,threshold of ,manhood4 ,a ,young ,man's ,words to ,young ,men4 ,second ,edition4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,john ,g4 ,paton1 ,missionary to the ,new ,hebrides3 ,an ,autobiography4 ,edited by his ,brother1 the ,rev4 ,,james ,,paton1 ,b4,a4 ,with ,portrait4 ,fifteenth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,first ,part4 ,dr4 ,t4 ,l4 ,,cuyler says3--,i have just laid down the most robust and the most fascinating piece of autobiography that ,i have met with in many a day4 ,it is the story of the wonderful work wrought by ,john ,g4 ,paton1 the famous missionary to the ,new ,hebrides2 he is made of the same stuff with ,livingstone4 ,a book which is as thrilling as any romance4 ,the ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,pierson1 author of ,the ,crisis of ,missions1 says3--,i consider it unsurpassed in missionary biography4 ,in the whole course of my extensive reading on these topics1 a more stimulating1 inspiring1 and every way first-class book has not fallen into my hands4 ,everybody ought to read it4 ,john ,g4 ,paton1 ,missionary to the ,new ,hebrides3 ,an ,autobiography4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,twelfth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,second ,part4 ,that the present volume will be received with as much favour as its predecessor may be looked upon as a foregone conclusion4 ,together they form one of the most fascinating records of missionary work4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,no modern missionary story is more thrilling1 romantic1 or in parts pathetic1 than this2 none furnishes more convincing proof of the power of the ,gospel or the efficacy of prayer4 ,the whole story is told without one word of self-exaltation1 and in a style charming in its simplicity and tenderness4--,methodist ,times4 ,,the ,,theological ,,educator4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,fcap4 #hvo1 #bs4 #f;d4 each ,vol4 ,the ,language of the ,new ,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,william ,,henry ,,simcox1 ,m4,a4 ,the most living grammar of the ,new ,testament we have4--,expositor4 ,outlines of ,christian ,doctrine4 ,by the ,rev4 ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of ,ridley ,hall1 ,cambridge4 ,third ,edition4 ,an ,introduction to the ,new ,testament4 ,by ,rev4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,third ,edition4 ,an ,introduction to the ,textual ,criticism of the ,new ,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,professor ,b4 ,b4 ,,warfield1 ,d4,d4 ,third ,thousand4 ,a ,manual of ,church ,history4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,jennings1 ,m4,a4 ,in ,two ,volumes4 ,vol4 ,i4--,from the ,first to the ,tenth ,century4 ,vol4 ,,ii4--,from the ,eleventh to the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,a ,manual of ,christian ,evidences4 ,by the ,rev4 ,prebendary ,c4 ,a4 ,,rowe1 ,m4,a4 ,sixth ,thousand4 ,a ,manual of the ,book of ,common ,prayer4 ,showing its ,history and ,contents4 ,for the use of those studying for ,holy ,orders and others4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,charles ,,hole1 ,b4,a41 ,king's ,college1 ,london4 ,a ,hebrew ,grammar4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,lowe1 ,m4,a41 ,joint ,author of ,a ,commentary on the ,psalms1 etc41 etc4 ,second ,thousand4 ,an ,exposition of the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,e4 ,,yonge1 ,m4,a41 late ,fellow of ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,a very complete guide to the sermon literature of the present day4 --,scotsman4 ,,the ,,sermon ,,bible4 ,strongly ,bound in ,half-,buckram4 #gs4 #f;d4 each ,volume4 ,each containing some ,hundreds of ,sermon ,outlines1 and several ,thousand ,references4 ,vol4 ,i4--,genesis to #b ,samuel4 ,we do not hesitate to pronounce this the most practically useful work of its kind at present extant4 ,it is not a commentary1 but a ,thesaurus of sermons on texts arranged consecutively1 chapter after chapter and book after book4444 ,we are bound to say that the object announced by the compilers is on the way to be realised1 and here will be given the essence of the best homiletic literature of this generation4--,literary ,churchman4 ,vol4 ,,ii4--#a ,kings to ,psalm ,,lxxvi4 ,preachers anxious to discover the best books out of which they may collect golden thoughts on any particular text1 for use in their sermons1 will doubtless be glad of the volume before us1 which aims at being a guide-book1 pointing out where sermons and articles on those texts may be found4 ,in addition to this1 extracts from sermons are given in the book itself4--,english ,churchman4 ,the series1 when completed1 will form an excellent guide to the best ,english sermons of recent times1 while it presents1 as well1 a selection of outlines upon the most important passages of ,scripture by the best preachers of our time4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,vol4 ,,iii4--,psalm ,,lxxvii4 to ,song of ,solomon4 ,the preachers whose names appear in connection with this book are some of the most remarkable of the past and present generations4 ,the ,book of ,ecclesiastes furnishes some beautiful texts1 which are here handled admirably2 and even the ,song of ,songs gives preachers of a more mystical turn exercise for their peculiar gifts4 ,the volume is likely to be very serviceable to preachers4--,church ,bells4 ,vol4 ,,iv4--,isaiah to ,malachi4 ,there is1 as in previous volumes1 great diversity of thought1 the homiletic matter being the product of minds widely differing in theological views4 ,it is a model of neatness in its get-up1 and cannot fail to be a valued1 because valuable1 addition to any clerical library4--,rock4 ,vol4 ,v4--,matthew ,i4 to ,,xxi4 ,the plan has been carried out with such admirable impartiality and such excellent taste that the student who wishes to ascertain how a given text is handled by the ablest ,english-speaking pulpit expositors of the day can hardly fail to find here what he seeks presented in the briefest form possible1 an elaborate sermon being usually condensed into two or three short paragraphs4--,manchester ,examiner4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,inconsistent hyphenation has been left as in the original text4 ,footnote #abi3 ,there is no anchor for this footnote1 left as in the original text4 ,footnotes #afc1 #cga1 #dcb1 #deb and #fji3 ,there are #b anchors for the same footnote1 left as in the original text4